


Above Dathomir

by RepeatOdyssey



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Jedi: Fallen Order (Video Game)
Genre: Actually slow burn, Alternate Universe, Amputation, Angst, Cal Kestis Needs a Hug, Enemies to Lovers, Eventual Romance, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Meditation, Medium Burn, Merrin Needs A Hug, Nightsister Magic | Dathomir Magic (Star Wars), Planet Dathomir (Star Wars), Scars, The Dark Side of the Force (Star Wars)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-22
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:00:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 72,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27676406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RepeatOdyssey/pseuds/RepeatOdyssey
Summary: The Jedi Padawan Cal Kestis survives the Jedi Purge after the death of his Master Jaro Tapal. Having escaped the 13th Clone Battalion and the destruction of their star destroyer, the Albedo Brave, he finds himself in a damaged escape pod falling onto the outer rim planet Dathomir. The young Nightsister Merrin, the last daughter of Dathomir, tasked with the burial of countless of her fallen sisters after the Massacre of the Nightsisters. Both teens find themselves alone, on one of the darkest planets in the whole Galaxy.If Cal Kestis had fallen onto the planet Dathomir, rather than the planet Bracca, during his escape from the Jedi purge.
Relationships: Cal Kestis/Merrin
Comments: 459
Kudos: 333





	1. Chapter 1-Prologue-The Fall

**Author's Note:**

> Above Dathomir is a story concept of what would happen if Cal Kestis were stranded on the planet Dathomir after the Jedi purge instead of the planet Bracca.  
> This story assumes that Cal Kestis was 14 years old during the Jedi purge, and Merrin was 16(15 during the battle of Dathomir/Massacre of the Nightsisters). Cal would be 19 during the events of Star Wars: Jedi Fallon Order, and Merrin would be 21. This is to keep in line the idea in the star wars canon that 19 is a important age. Luke Skywalker left Tatooine on the Millennium Falcon at the age of 19. The Clone wars started when Anakin Skywalker was 19. Rey was 19 when she left the planet Jakku to fight The First Order. 19 is an important age in Star Wars. Merrin's age is chosen mostly because I find it hard to view Merrin as younger or the same age as Cal.  
> It will also be assumed that the reason that Merrin lives so close to the Tomb of Kujet instead of the Nightsisters Lair is because the area around the tomb is the traditional burial place for the Nightsisters (makes sense based on the shear number of burial pods near the tomb) and Merrin had taken on the task of burying? hanging? her dead sisters, and decided to stay because of reasons including; staying close to Ilyana’s burial pod, it's close to the Nightbrother Village, wants to stay away from the Nightsister Lair.  
> This story also makes a few changes outside of the obvious one. First Taron Malicos doesn't crash land on Dathomir after the jedi purge (we can assume he crash lands on Bracca instead, or died in the purge, I don’t know). Second Cal Kestis never loses his force teachings after the Jedi purge (so he can survive on Dathomir for more than a day). Lastly Cal Kestis does not crash-land in the same spot as Taron Malicos does in the game. Instead he crash-lands in the flatlands much further away from the Tomb of Kujet.  
> Finally I will note that a year on Dathomir is 491 days, when I mention years and age it's based on Galactic Standard Years, aka 365 day years, just to simplify the whole thing.  
> This is my first work. All Criticism is welcome, and I apologize if I get the formatting wrong.

The escape pod’s computer had taken a blaster bolt, leaving Cal without any information on when or where on the planet he would be landing. Even if it was undamaged, he wasn’t sure he would be able to read it anyways, his vision heavily blurred by a torrent of tears. All he could really see was the rough outline of the pod's durasteel interior. Red lights flashing ceaselessly, with sparks flying across the small space from the damage caused by the clones blue blaster fire. The air quickly filled with smoke from the sparking equipment. Cal ran to the diagnostic computer, one of the few things spared from bolter damage. Looking down the list, there were more items highlighted in red than orange or green. Red meant it was irreparable, at least in mid-descent. Orange, off line, but repairable.

Looking at the first item highlighted in orange, the accelerometer. ‘Probably need that.’ Making a mental list of all the orange highlighted items, and quickly prioritizing the most essential for repair. Cal went about repairing the pod, his mind racing through the escape pod drill that he had been run through bimonthly aboard the Albedo Brave, along with the rest of the 13th Battalion. Unlike the clones, Cal was expected to know how to repair most of the pod's internal systems. At the time he had hated the extra lessons forced upon him by Master Tapal, failing to understand why a Jedi would be expected to perform such tasks. Now all his complaints became mute when he found himself in need of all the information and skills gained from those much hated and lengthy lessons.

Cal kept himself busy with his repairs, his mind never straying from his tasks. His eyes, never venturing a glance to the floor of the pod. His legs carried him around the pod, never cutting through the center. He forced himself to breath from his mouth, subconsciously fearing the smell of burnt flesh he knew was present. All his actions meant to ignore the dead body that lay in the middle of the floor. Master Jaro Tapal’s body, his master. But even with all mind focused elsewhere, the tears wouldn’t stop pouring.

As Cal repaired system after system, he still clutched the damaged weapon of his master. The lightsaber hilt, meant for the large grip of a Lasat, looked giant when held by Cal’s adolescent hand. His own weapon was destroyed along with the rest of the Albedo Brave, after their escape. His kyber crystal, that he almost died on Ilum for, gone. He had poured his hopes and aspirations into crafting his symbol of being a Jedi, and he lost it when it slipped from his hand. Now as held his master's weapon, Cal felt the emotion behind it's craft, and the calmness and serenity that it's crafter had exemplified. Cal wished he could experience the serenity emanating from the echo of the weapon, rather than just sense it. His mind was too fractured to get anything other than a slight tingle.

As Cal finished the last of the essential repairs, he glanced at the front of the pod. The pod was windowless, as that would mean structural weakness. Something could not be tolerated when designing something that was meant to crash into a planet without damaging its occupants, too much. Cal vaguely remembers, in the escape pod drill, being told that the pods speaker would start counting down one minute before impact, along with the main computer flashing numbers along with it, giving time for the pods occupants to secure themselves in the seats. But the computer was broken, so all Cal had to rely on to know when to strap himself into a seat would be the speaker system, currently silent. Meaning Cal had more time to repair less essential systems. More time to ensure the pod survives the crash well enough to call for help, to get a message to the Jedi council.

Reading the diagnostics list, the first non essential system listed for repair was… the speaker system.

“That can't be goo-” Cal is cut off by a sudden wave of force as the escape pod crashes into the planet's surface. 

[Break]

Merrin looks up from her task; preparing the body of another fallen Nightsister for burial. That is all she has been doing for a year. Prepare body after body, prepare burial pod after burial pod. Sister after sister to be mummified, given burial rights, and then stuffed into pods made of animal skins to be strung up across the mountain. How many sisters had she buried in the past week? A dozen, maybe. How many in the last moon cycle? She wasn’t sure, perhaps 30 or 40. But the last year, she didn’t know. Doesn't want to know.

More than a year had passed since the decimation of her coven. The slaughter of her sisters at the hand of one who wielded blades of plasma, a jedi’s weapon. Cutting her sisters down, as his army of droids fired, killing ceaselessly. The fires, the smoke, the smell of flesh, meat, and blood burned by plasma. The battle cries of her sisters charging into battle, to defend their homes, only to be put down along with them. Plasma bows and duskblades fighting blasters and blades of green and blue light. All that had been left behind were scraps of metal, the smoking remains of the Nightsister coven, and Merrin holding the body of her Ilyana.

What had taken only a few hours to be lost forever, she had grieved for for days. Spending her days cleaning the bodies, in many cases piecing them back together, and preserving them with magik. To give her time to prepare the countless bodies of her sisters for burial. She never did find the body of Mother. After all the bodies had been magically presurved, she had the Nightbrothers transport the bodies across miles of dangerous land to the canyon of ancestors, and finally to the mountain that lay in the middle of the vast canyon. The trip had taken months, but Merrin wouldn’t allow her sisters to be put to rest anywhere but the Nightsisters traditional burial grounds. She herself had carried Ilyana’s body on the journey. Once they made it to the mountain, she set the Nightbrothers to work hunting for countless animal skins to make the burial pods. Over the months, droves of Nightbrothers had died hunting for more skins. It was a small comfort to Merrin that Nightbrothers were not afforded burial rights, less work for her. Nightbrothers were lucky if their fellow brothers deemed them important enough to retrieve their body to be thrown into a hole and covered in dirt. It was much more common for them to be left for the scavengers, or used as bait for hunting.

Ilyana was not the first sister she had prepared for burial. She hadn’t had the heart to bury her favored sister, the one she had believed she would spend the rest of her life with. So instead the first one to be prepared had been one of the martial sisters, her body cut into half a dozen pieces by burning blades. Merrin could not fathom a more gruesome weapon. It had taken her weeks of preparing other sister’s bodies, and looking upon Ilyana’s body peppered with blaster burns to work up the will to bury her heart, to bury the one source of light on Dathomir. When she had finally prepared and given Ilyana her burial rights, she had spent days traversing the mountain looking for the best spot to hang Ilyana’s burial pod. She had settled for a cliff near the peak that had a perfect look of Dathomir’s sunset, hanging her pod on the grave thorn that grew overlooking the cliff. Merrin remembers then many evenings Ilyana would climb up the tallest of Grave Thorn trees near the Nightsister lair, Merrin joining her when she had grown old enough. They would watch the sunset as Ilyana would weave stories of planets with suns of yellow, orange, white, and blue. Ilyana had always wondered if the sunsets of planets without red suns were painted with different colors. Ilyana had always dreamed of traveling the galaxy, seeing as much of it as she could. A dream that Merrin had wanted to join her on. A dream that no longer existed. It had died along with Ilyana. All Merrin had left was her task.

Merrin turned to the entrance of the stone structure she used to prepare the bodies, as another party of Nightbrother hunters brought more animal skins. Most of the skins were that of the Sprantal, a large three eyed reptile that can be found in the swamps and flatlands of Dathomir. But a few of the skins are that of Nydaks, mostly the skins of adolescent or elderly Nydaks, as a fully grown Nydak is too dangerous a quarry for most of the Nightbrother hunting parties.

Another Nightbrother enters, rushing to her with panicked eyes. “Nightsister, There are explosions in the north sky! Fire raining down from above!”

Merrin glowered at the nameless Nightbrother, annoyed at this interruption. What was she supposed to do about explosions in the sky! She proceeded to follow the fearful Nightbrother, who was more scared of the irritated Nightsister than he was of the explosions at this point. As she took a step through the threshold of the doorway, Merrin tried to count the days it had been sense she had last gone outside. After a second of thought she decided it had been about half a moon cycle since she had last felt the heat of Dathomir’s red sun.

When she brought her vision over to the north sky, there was indeed the remnants of large explosions in the sky far above the northern flatland. Fire lighting up the northern skyline like a second son. Nothing Merrin could do anything about, even if the explosions had been right over the mountains peak. The flames soon fell below to horizon, out of sight. With a tired sigh she returned back to her heart breaking work.

[Break]

Cal woke to the smell of smoke, blood, and burning flesh. His head throbbed with an angry migraine. Instinctively reaching up to hold his forehead, Cal felt a wet sensation near his hairline. ‘That explains the smell of blood… and the headache.’

Opening his tired eyes, he took in the scene around him. The pod had been cracked open like an egg; the metal ripped apart in jagged angry pieces. An electrical fire had been sparked in the other half of the pod, explaining the smell of smoke. 

Turning his head caused another throb of pain to shoot up to his head. Cal’s eyes soon found the source of the burning flesh smell. Tears once again sprang from his eyes as he looked upon the lifeless body of his master. Master Tapal’s body had been thrown only feet away from Cal in the crash, bending in unnatural ways. His blaster wounds still smoking.

The betrayal of the clones had shacked the young Padawan down to his very core, even before the death of Master Jaro Tapal; His father figure that had raised him for the past two years. His teacher, mentor, had died because Cal had failed him; had panicked when it mattered most.

Cal had always felt insecure about being the Padawan of such a well respected master of the Jedi Order. He had always feared he was not good enough to learn under Master Tapal. ‘If Master Tapal had chosen a different Padawan would he still be alive.’

Now wasn’t the time for such thoughts. Cal collected himself, finding as he stood that despite his head wound and a few aggressive looking bruises he was relatively unharmed in the crash. ‘Seems I’m not completely out of luck’. Stepping outside the pod, through the crack in its side, Cal was met with a planet of red dirt, red sky, and red plant life, all watched over by a blood red sun. The planet’s name, Dathomir. The namesake for the Dathomir solar system, being the only habitable planet in the system. Home of the Dathomirians, a subrace of Zabraks that was rarely seen venturing from Dathomir. Besides that small amount of information, Cal knew little else about the planet. He couldn’t even recall why the 13th Battalions Star Destroyer, the Albedo Brave, had been stationed in the system for the past three months. From his understanding Dathomir was as far away from anywhere militarily strategic as one could be. No trade routes, no direct star jumps to important systems, no rare material that could be used in the war effort. The whole three months the 13th Battalion had been stationed in the system, they hadn’t done anything of note beyond monitoring communications. That also made little sense as there were no communications to monitor in a mostly empty star system anyways. 

Taking a look at the sky it seemed to be a little past mid day. Sadly Cal couldn’t do much with that information. He had no clue as to how long a day on Dathomir was. He had heard of planets with only a few hours of daylight, and planets with day light that lasted several galactic standard days. He even knew of planets with multiple stars that caused the planet to have constant day all across the planet. Though he needn't worry about that, knowing that the Dathomir system only had the one star. The red giant named Domir. A funny name for a star really. Most names for celestial bodies outside of habitable planets involved numbers, letters, and code.

Glancing back at the broken pod Cal spotted the orange box. It's purpose was to send out distress signals across the whole of the solar system. The box was supposed to be deep inside the machinery of the pod, but it had somehow found itself thrown dozens of meters away from the crash site. The only reason Cal had spotted it was it's bright orange paint that looked off when surrounded by the pale reds and dull browns of Dathomirian dirt. Limping over to it, Cal popped open it's access hatch. The whole of it's electrical insides were a mixture of burnt out, ripped, and shattered. Cal’s chances of being rescued from this red rock had just dipped down to merely theoretical at best.

[Break]

It turned out that Dathomir had a day night cycle that was a similar length to standard galactic days, at least as far as Cal could tell. Cal had been able set up a relatively simple camp, not much, but it was enough for now. 

Night on Dathomir was quiet; almost nerve rackingly so. Cal hadn’t heard a sound throughout the whole night. Outside of the escape pods fire and Cal himself, there was no noise. The pods fire had gone out halfway through the night, leaving the only light source for cal to be Dathomir’s two moons. Even at night Dathomir was bathed in the red light of the two lunar satellites. Cal swore that when he got off this planet, he’d never look at the color red the same again. ‘How could one planet be so red? Red dirt, red sun, red plant life, red atmosphere, even the moons reflected the sun's red light.’ At least with two moons, the Dathomirian night was well lit.

Cal knew that he would need to move on at some point, seeing as there was no source of water near the crash site, and if he wanted any way off this planet to get back to the jedi and bring news of the death of his master and the batrial and destruction of the 13th clone battalion.   
But before he can even think of moving on, there is one task that Cal must do.

Spending his first morning on Dathomir collecting wood, Cal quickly found that the task would be harder than he had first imagined. Cal had thought he had landed in the middle of a burnt out forest of dead trees. All the trees were pitch black with bark that looked burnt, not a leaf or flower in sight. It soon became apparent that the thought dead forest, was in fact, not dead. The trees were very much living and tougher than stone. Using his master's saber, Cal would slowly cut off branch after branch, never taking too much from one tree.

After hours of collecting wood and gathering the wood into a simi-neat pile, Cal retrieved his master's body from the escape pod. Cal had to move him through the force, as the lasat’s body was much too large for him to carry conventionally. Placing Master Tapal’s body onto the wood stack, Cal used the lightsaber to light the pyre. Followed by cutting off his apprentice braid and tossing it into the flame.

The wood, despite its durability, had surprisingly caught relatively easily with the help of some lighter fluid Cal had found in the supplies of the escape pod.

As Cal watched his master's body burn another stream of tears started to fall. Cal had always known his time with Master Jaro Tapal would come to an end. But he had always imagined it would be a celebratory occasion; making it to become a Jedi knight. He would have still been able to see his old master that way. But now, this would be the last he’d see of him. Cal’s last memories of his old master being that of succumbing to fear, and getting Master Tapal killed.

The day he had been chosen by Master Tapal as an apprentice was the happiest day of his life. Jedi Master Jaro Tapal, a well respected master, his skills with the force and lightsaber rivaled even some members of the Jedi Council. In matters of wisdom and the insights of the force, Jaro Tapal’s peers would look to him for guidance. When the war had started and the 13th Battalion had been put under his command, they had quickly earned a reputation as the “Iron” Battalion.

But to Cal, Master Tapal was more than a teacher, a skilled warrior, and a font of wisdom. He was a friendly face in a galaxy torn by war. He was a beacon of light in the force when Cal got lost in meditation. He was the closest Cal had to a parent. He was Cal’s master. And he was no more, forever lost in the force. And it was all Cal’s fault.

A Jedi apprentice, barely above a youngling, found alone. Masterless, and afraid. Abandoned on a planet as red as his master's blood that stained the floor of the trashed escape pod. Looked down upon by a sun of violent crimson. His master had not lost his life on Dathomir, but his blood stained the planet. Cal wondered if soon his blood would coat the planet in more vermilion. He didn’t really care if it did, he was alone for the first time in his life, and maybe for the rest of his, possibly-probably, short life.

His master, who had trained him, guided him, protected him, and cared for him. Gone.


	2. Chapter 2-Year 1-Survival

The food and water rations that had been stored in the escape pod had only lasted Cal four weeks. Military regulation of starship escape pods stated an escape pod should have enough food and water to feed six adults for two galactic standard weeks. But due to military supply shortages and the Albedo Brave not being assigned to any active military campaigns, the escape pods rations and supplies seemed to have been neglected heavily.

For the last four weeks, Cal had spent most of his time in an almost numb state. Waking up to start meditating well into the evening, only stopping to eat and collecting wood for the night; waiting, hoping that he would be rescued. He knew that if he left the escape pod’s crash site it would be unlikely that he would be found by any rescue teams sent. But he also knew that the likelihood of a rescue team being sent was doubtful. He was stranded on an outer rim planet and the whole of the Albedo Brave had been destroyed. He would find it surprising if the Jedi Council knew that the Albedo Brave was gone, let alone that Master Tapal’s apprentice had survived. 

Cal had found Meditations to be a release from his worries of the world around him and the situation he had been forced into. A way to forget about all the dark emotions and memories that flare up in his mind. But that isn’t to say that meditations have not posed their own problem as well. The more he meditated, the more he was unnerved by the planet. Dathomir seemed to have a very strong and ancient connection to the force. Similar, yet vastly different, to the connection Cal had felt at the Jedi temples on Coruscant and Ilum. It was both comforting and slightly unnerving. 

In those four weeks, Cal had encountered very little of Dathomir's wildlife. And the one time he had, the creature had tried to kill him. Cal looked down at the bacta-patch covering the large laceration that the Dathomirian praditore had cut into his upper left arm. A large quadruped with dagger sized claws, needle like teeth, and a bony faceplate the creature used to ram Cal into a tree before ripping the wound into his arm. Cal had quickly decapitated the assailant before it had a chance to do any worse. 

The only reason he hadn’t run out of food yet was because he had started eating the creature that had attacked him. The meat took a considerable amount of time to cook, and gave off little to no smell besides that of wood smoke. When tasted it had the unappealing flavor of rancid meat. He had to force his body to scarf it down the first time he had eaten it. He later found that cooking it to near burnt helped his body stomach the meal. 

But the issue with no water had yet to be solved, as he there weren't any water sources near the crash site, and he had yet to see any rain clouds, just red mist. 

Cal was going to be forced to move on at some point because of this, and had set himself to the task of taking stock of his meager survival supplies before leaving. 

A half stocked field medical kit. Military regulation called for it to be fully stocked; but if the rations weren't fully stocked, then why would the med kit be full?

Two rebreathers; there should be six. Cal couldn’t see himself using the rebreathers any time as there weren't any bodies in site, and he doubted he would need to dive deep into an ocean or lake anyways.

Five water cantines. Better but there was supposed to be six at minimum. 

A small bundle of glow rods. There should have been at least two flashlights, glow rods weren't even regulation, but that would be too convenient. 

A small pot for cooking and utensils; should have been multiple pots and more utensils.

And half a dozen short-range comlinks. The only thing that matched regulation, yay! What use does he have for comlinks? None. 

There was also supposed to be a blaster carbine and ammo for hunting, but that didn’t survive the crash. Cal didn’t care for using a blaster anyways, and would probably find better luck hunting with the lightsaber. 

But as he collected all that he needed a question made its way into his mind. ‘What direction do I travel in?’

His master's words rang in his head “Remember trust only in the Force.” So Cal decided to do just that.

[Break]

After delaying his departure by an hour or so, to meditate, it was time to finally say goodby to the wreckage that had been his home for the past weeks. Despite having lived here, survived here for not an insignificant amount of time there were little memories directly associated with the site besides his master’s pyre funeral. At least none that Cal found he would commit to much memory. In truth his time here was mostly a blur already despite not having left yet. 

The meditation had honestly been more helpful than Cal had expected. What he had expected was to have only a vague pull or draw in a random direction, if there was a pull in the force at all. Cal had little faith if there hadn’t been. But what Cal had not expected was to get a clear and direct pull in the force pointing him almost directly southword. What he was being steered to was important for sure, but what it was and what made it important had yet to be made clear to the young Jedi.

Traveling south had started out much better than Cal would have hoped for. Almost an hour into the journey the first view of rain clouds had been sighted. Before seeing them, Cal would have believed the planet didn’t rain. The only reason he knew water existed on the planet at all was because of the sparse plant life.

An hour after the sighting, the rain finally reached him. A blessing since he had completely run out of water and had been scared of dying of dehydration. 

The rain was heavy and obscured most of the land around him. There was no real shelter to take as the only trees in sight were the kind that had no leaves and little to no branches to take refuge under. The feeling of water washing over him gave Cal an idea. 

Quickly laying his supplies to the side and stripping down to his undercloth Cal worked to wash off the weeks of dirt and filth from his body. 

What Cal hadn’t anticipated was the wildlife taking advantage of the precipitation as well.

Feeling the creature through the force as it silently pounced at him. Cal rolled away, narrowly avoiding the beast's charge. Another one of those animals with the large claws and boney faceplates. This time Cal had some idea as to how they moved.

Calling his master's weapon to him with the force, it was in his hands and ignited moments before the creature's next charge. Opting to not risk meeting the charge head on, he stepped to the side as the creature sped by. Cal took a swing at its neck in an attempt to behead the creature like the first one he had fought. Either the creature slipped in the muddy ground or was trying to adjust it's direction. Because a slight movement of the creature caused Cal’s cut to take it's forward right leg instead of it's head. 

The creature roared in pain as it writhed in pain away from Cal. 

He had expected the creature to flee from the injury, and had not gone for a follow up attack. But the creature had set up for another charge, missing leg be damned. 

Cal hadn’t prepared for another charge, but the creature's missing leg was clearly hampering it. It's stamped clumsy and slow, giving Cal the time and room to recover to take another swipe at its neck. 

His blade struck the beast right behind the faceplate, sundering the head in two rather than dycapitateing it. Nonetheless the creature crumbled to the ground, dead. 

[Break]

The short lived rain had allowed Cal to fill up the on water to last him a few more days. He knew the water situation was going to be a consistent problem. The rain while strong and heavy was hardly frequent enough to survive off of for a prolonged period of time, and he had no idea how long he would be stuck on this planet. 

After a few more days of travel the terrain started to change from pure flatlands with partial trees into a more heavily forested area. The trees were still the same twisted burnt looking kind with no leaves and few branches. But a change was a change. With the change in scenery came a change in the wildlife; that being that there was a noticeable amount of wildlife. The only non-plant life that Cal had seen prior to this were those bone-faced predators along with a few flying insects that seemed to swarm around some of the plant life. 

First he had seen a small brown and purple lizard that had four eyes, two on each side of it's head. Then he spotted a large spider a little smaller than an astromech droid. It had a dark gray exoskeleton and frankly looked like something out of a nightmare. When Cal had approached the spider, it had spit a glob of acid that ate a hole through his robes. After dispatching the spider, it had exploded into a puddle of the same acidic liquid. 

A large lizard about a meter had almost immediately descended upon the liquified spider, licking up the puddle. The large reptile had three eyes, one of which was on the back of it's head. Giving the creature 360 degree vision. Cal is starting to think all the reptiles of Dathomir may have more than two eyes. Besides eyeing Cal as it ate it's spider soup, it mostly left Cal alone. 

Seeing the three eyed lizard eat the spider remains did make realize that Cal wouldn’t be able to rely on meat alone for food, and he would need to find some kind of plant that was edible.

Having made camp for the night under one of the larger trees, that twisted over to the side, allowing for it to provide a considerable amount of cover. Cal decides to test some plants for edibility. 

The first plant Cal tested would be a small bush-like plant that produces large yellow pod-like fruit. He would test both the yellow fruit as well as the plant's roots. It had no leaves, and the branches were a tough wood covered in barbs that would often get caught on Cal’s robes. 

Cutting one of the yellow fruits and rubbing the slice over a small patch of skin, he waited for a reaction. While waiting he did the same with the roots, rubbing them over another small patch of skin.

Minutes later with no reaction from either he decided to cook both for further testing. It was normally recommended to boil any plants you wanted to test, but Cal had little water to spare, so toasting would have to suffice. 

The fruit quickly turned to sickly mush when applied to heat, and when put to Cal’s libs had a bitter soapy taste. Inedible. The roots when cooked smelled of meat, and turned from a bland gray color to a dark orange, almost brown hue. When put up to his lips and waiting the roots gave no reaction.   
Finally eating the root, it reminded Cal of the nut paste that was often packaged in republic rations. ‘Finally, something that isn’t terrible to eat!’ 

The next plant to eat was another bush that grew almost everywhere, grew from as small a meter to as large as some trees, and grew large red fruits that looked almost like hearts, veins and all. The roots and leaves were quickly found to irritate the skin, failing the edibility test. The fruit was as hard as wood, but produced a sickly purple nectar that was found to be edible. It tasted like someone had mixed water, blood, salt, and dirt together. In particular the iron taste, similar to that of blood, made the nectar hard to stomach. The nectar could make a good replacement for water… maybe. 

[Break]

Another burial pod finished for the Nightbrothers to take to string up somewhere on the mountain. Either hung from the branches of a large grave thorn, over a cliff, or to hang from a wooden structure when a cliff or grave thorn couldn’t be found. 

Merrin hadn’t personally attended the hanging of any of her sisters since Ilyana had been buriad. After her favored sister had been given her rights, Merrin threw herself into her task. Masking her grief and pain by preoccupying herself with work. Giving little time for her to think about anything other than preparing the next body, crafting the next pod. She only ate to sustain herself, and very rarely slept. Fearing what she may see, remember, or relive. 

She would ignore the Nightbrother hunters that would bring in skins for the pods. Only interacting with them when they would give her reports, usually involving a hunting party getting attacked by Gorgara, the queen of the canyon, and Merrin’s biggest headache. The Nightbrother hunters wouldn’t hunt when Gorgara was out hunting. Slowing down the hunt for pelts and skins. 

The over hunting of the Mountain has also forced the hunters to venture into the swamplands in the Canyon that surrounded the mountain. Meaning hunting parties would be gone for days on end to return with only a few animal skins. 

After finishing the mummification of another sister and finding there to be too few skins to craft a burial pod, Merrin had had enough. Needing a break from consistent work. Her body was at the end of it's rope. She couldn’t remember the last time she had eaten, and hadn’t slept in days. 

Taking a glance across her work space she spotted a bowl of food on a table near the doorway. A Nightbrother must have delivered it at some point. Walking over to the bowl, it appeared to be Veeka meat and broth. The soup was cold, and had little taste left, after who knows how long it had been left here, but it was better than nothing. 

Finishing the meal, Merrin knew she needed to rest, to sleep. But she dreaded the thought. Ever since her sisters massacre her dreams would attack her with visions of that night. She would be forced to relive the day she had lost everything over and over again. It was a small mercy when her night terrors would force her awake, so the torment her memories forced on her wouldn’t be prolonged. 

She hadn’t slept peacefully for a year. Always exhausted. Meditation had turned into her only rest, what little help it gave.

It took her little time to enter a deep meditation, using her connection with the planet to sense the countless life forms that lived on the mountain, in the canyon, and beyond. Every creature, beast and Nightbrothers gave off a darkness that could only be seen through meditation. Dark souls for a planet seeped in darkness. Her mother had told her that everything born on Dathomir was touched by its power. The Nightsisters used this power to perform their magicks. 

Every sister had this darkness as well, stronger than those of those of the beasts or the Nightbrothers. All sisters except her beloved Ilyana; the only light of Dathomir. Where her sisters were drenched in the planet's darkness, Ilyana would glow brighter than the sun when viewed through meditation. Her sisters and mother had found Ilyana odd for her light, but Merrin had loved her for it. 

But Ilyana was long gone, taken along with her sister’s. And Ilyana’s light on Dathomir was gone with her. Never again will Merrin feel its warmth in her meditations.

[Break]

The first sight of the vast lake seemed like a trick of the eyes or of the mind to Cal. After months of traveling with little to no sources of water, and always on the verge of dehydration the young Jedi couldn’t imagine such a find. So when the extensive body of water had shown itself from between the trees reflecting the red sky of Dathomir, Cal had little trust in his senses. But the lake was indeed no illusion, with water a clear and still as glass. The joy and relief in stumbling upon this treasure was overpowering. 

The last months of travel across had been difficult to say the least. Especially when concerning the need for hydration. Cal had to rely on the nectar of the heart shaped fruits for hydration, or at least that had been the plan. He had quickly found that when drinking the nectar in large amounts it would poison the body with debilitating side effects; namely uncontrollable and violent convulsions, hallucinations that warped the senses to none function, and finally the blurring of vision that would last days.

When Cal had first been poisoned by the nectar, he had believed he was dying. When the hours of convulsions and hallucinations had ended and the blurred vision set in there was little faith that it was temporary. After nine days of being unable to see the path in front of himself as he traveled, his vision was finally recovered. How Cal had survived those tortures nine days, always on the edge of death, is little short of a miracle of the force.

He could longer look at the fruits without growing lightheaded, and hadn’t touched the nectar again. 

Forced to rely on the rare rainfalls and small ponds of muddy water, Cal had dreamed of finding a body of clean water. He had never hoped that after, he guessed, five to six months of travel he would find such a clean and vast source of water. He hadn’t seen such a large body of water since he had seen Dathomir’s oceans from space, aboard the Albedo Brave.

Cal quickly found a perfect shelter to set up a semi permanent camp to live in. A well hidden cave in a cliff side about fifty meters from the lake. Cal could finally relax for the first time since being stranded. A bath was in order. In fact, Cal realized, this would be his first bath ever. The Jedi temple on Coruscant and the Albedo Brave both only had refreshers. 

Undressing down to his undergarments, and leaving his master’s lightsaber by the edge of the lake Cal couldn’t hold back the yell of excitement that came from his mouth as he jumped into that water. 

His voice sounded almost foreign to the Jedi now. It had been months since he had used it for anything louder than a whisper to himself. In his travels Cal had quickly adopted the planet's quiet demeanor. The whole planet was silent, and Cal had become the same, rarely making a noise. Hearing his voice in such a loud volume after so long felt weird, and he could be wrong but he swears his voice has gotten deeper, if only by a fraction.

Swimming to the surface of the lake, Cal inspected his body. Heavily changed from his time on Dathomir. The many scars that now covered his body, bruises that painted his body in purple and yellow, and the more refined muscles that he had earned. All of which looked out of place on his young body. He looked back to where he had left his Jedi robes, covered in many rips and tares and stained many shades of red and brown.

The water was cold against his skin, and cooled and soothed his angry abused muscles. Leaning back, content to let his body float on the surface as he bathed in the light of Dathomir’s red sun. It's rays of red light had never seemed to burn Cal unlike the much more common yellow suns of other planets, or the white star that acted as Coruscant’s sun.

Cal’s relaxation was suddenly cut short when he felt something move near him in the water. Having been drawn to a near paranoia over the last few months, he acted swiftly and without hesitation.

Pulling his weapon to him through the force, he lit the weapon as soon as it hit his hand. It's blue light reflecting off the lake's surface. He cut at the presence that had ventured to close. The water boiled at the touch from the plasma blade. Two parts of a small fish floated to the surface. 

Getting an idea, the Jedi deactivated the lightsaber. He swam a little further into the lake and waited for a small shadow to pass by. grabbing at the fish, catching it in both hands. Pulling it out of the water, Cal soon realized he recognized the fish’s species. 

A Burra fish, commonly farmed across the galaxy for it's meat, it was part of the staple diet for countless planets. Popular for the ease of feeding their rapid population growth, with a tendency to survive in most bodies of water, yet would often lose out to native fish species if they happened to escape captivity. It was so common across many star systems, it had escaped Cal’s memory that the fish had originated from the planet of Dathomir. It had even been served at the Jedi temple from time to time.

Seems this lake was worth more than what had been expected, providing both food and water.

[Break]

After resting at the lake for over a month Cal had finally recovered from his months of travel while under constant danger from wildlife and always on the verge of dehydration. He had regained his strength on the diet of Burra fish, those roots that tasted of nuts, and the small four eyed lizards that Cal had found that their meat was sweet when cooked. A weird but not unwelcome taste. 

The only thing that had really unsettled Cal about the lake was how there were little to now large creatures, despite this being the only body of water in the area. The largest creature Cal had seen near the lake were the small four eyed lizards. None of those large acid spiders, large three eyed lizards, or the bone plated predators. 

But Cal was hardly going to complain about not being bothered by the wildlife.

The wild Burra fish tasted better than the farmed Burra he had eaten at the temple. It didn’t help that the chefs at the temple didn’t believe in seasoning, and were completely happy with serving cooked fish and hardtack biscuits. The clone rations were hardly better but at least had some imagination to them. Or it was more like the clones had imagination with how they ate their rations, and would gladly teach the young Padawan. 

When Cal wasn’t catching and gathering his daily meals he found himself more often than not meditating. He had hardly the chance to meditate when he had been traveling, and scavenging or hunting for his next meal and drink. So he filled his free time with meditation to catch up on the hours of meditations he had missed. 

Master Tapal had kept him on a strict schedule of meditation aboard the Albedo Brave, but even when given free time to himself between training, sleep, and meals it wasn’t uncommon for Cal to spend the time meditating. Cal had always found meditation calming, relaxing. It allowed him to center himself and temper his emotions. To get lost in the feeling of the force surrounding everything and everyone. Besides it wasn’t like there was much for a fourteen year old to do aboard a star destroyer. 

But now meditation only brought forth his hidden emotions and the memories that were attached to them. His meditations, though helpful in keeping his mind and connection to the force stable, were painful. His meditations filled his consciousness with thoughts of the clones, his former friends and allies, that had attacked him and killed Master Tapal. He was bombarded with thoughts of failure, having caused his master's death by being weak and fearful. He knew these thoughts were false, knowing that he had been a child, he still was a child. He wasn’t to blame for the death of Master Jaro Tapal, but this knowledge helped him little when trying to chase away the thoughts of failure. 

But Cal knew he must keep up his meditations. It healed his mind, keeping him connected to the light side of the force. But it also helped with fighting off the malevolent presence that seemed to exist on Dathomir. Dathomir it seems has a strong connection to the dark side of the force. The longer he went without meditation, the more he felt it's dark hands surround him, much like it surrounded everything else on the planet. Whether it chased away this darkness or hid it away, Cal wasn’t sure. But he had no interest in finding out. Whatever this malevolent force was, Cal feared it more than he feared his memories.

As a Padawan under Master Tapal’s training, and as a youngling back at the Jedi temple, the dark side had always seemed to be a distant foe, a story to scare the young Jedi in training. He was always told that the dark side is ever present looking for a way to take hold, but Cal had never felt it, or at least he thought he hadn’t. But that all changed while meditating on this red planet. The planet had introduced the dark side to him, the scary story made manifest, and it frightened Cal.

[Break]

A ear-splitting roar roused Cal from his sleep. His camp fire had died down at some point in the night, leaving the only light in the cave being the red light of the two moons that was bleeding through the cave entrance. 

A second roar, seeming to answer the first one, shook the air around Cal. Sending a shock of fear and dread down his spine, paralyzing him for the briefest of moments.

Slinking outside his cave, making sure to produce as little sound as possible, Cal soon spotted the monsters that could create such blood curdling cries. A dozen large masses each the size of a small building moved on the other side of the lake. The dark shapes moved together as a group as they patrolled their side of the lake. In the darkness, and given their distance Cal couldn’t make out any real detail besides their size.

Having no wish to get any closer, Cal retired back to his camp, to hide from the creatures as they moved past the lake.

Cal would be awoken two more times by the chilling roars of the creatures, and he found himself ever thankful for the small cave he had made into a base camp. 

Being woken by the red light of the morning sun that creeped into the cave, Cal would get a much better look at the creatures of the night.

Upon exiting his cave, Cal swiftly jumped back into the safety of the hollow. Barely suppressing the yelp that tried making it's voice known. One of last night's creatures had made their way to Cal’s side of the lake, and was a mere dozen meters from Cal’s camp. Only luck and a force honed reaction time had saved him from being spotted. It sported a thick brown reptilian hide, claws that looked capable of crushing or cutting through the largest of trees with ease. Small pitch black eyes, that conveyed no emotion.

Cal recognized the creature at once, a Rancor. 

Cal had studied many dangerous flora and fauna that can be found across the galaxy. The Rancor in particular is known as one of the most dangerous predators the galaxy has to offer. Due to many crimelords and planetary warlords across the ages, capturing and transporting them across the galaxy to act as gladiators, trophies, and/or glorified pets, Rancors are well known in the galaxy. Several planets now hold sizable populations of the deadly creatures. Most notably Felucia, with its subspecies of jungle and bull rancors. How could he have forgotten the home world of Rancors was Dathomir. It was a hot topic among the 13th battalion when they had first been assigned to the Dathomir system. It seemed, despite Dathomir being viewed as a backwater planet and forgettable, much of its wildlife is quite prolific across the galaxy, like the Burra fish and Rancor. 

Cal would just have to watch, and hope the herd of Rancors would move on, and leave the lake. But after a few days of watching the herd make its home around the lake, Cal had a very close call when sneaking to the lake to gather water and food at night. A rancor had managed to sneak close to cal as he gathered roots and fire wood. Despite their size they could move with little sound of warning. ‘I hate Dathomirian wildlife.’ Cal had only escaped by dropping the fish he had gathered earlier, and running into the darkness of the night. Dodging a claw swipe by inches.

Cal knew the rancors had no plans to leave anytime soon, and he knew he couldn’t risk another close call. He was being forced to leave the lake before Cal lost what little luck he had left. 

Cal had known he would have to leave the lake at some point, he was still being pulled by the force to continue his journey south. Every meditation a consistent reminder of this. But he had at least wished he wouldn’t be forced from this sanctuary so soon.

[Break]

The last pod was finally finished. To be hung somewhere on the mountain by the Nightbrothers. Countless sisters Merrin had to bury. Over the last two years this had been her mission. Working endlessly to complete it. Every one of her sisters put to rest.

The thought of finishing her work had never really crossed her until she went to retrieve another of her sister's bodies to prepare, to find that there were none left. Every body had been prepared, and the last pod was off to be hung. The whole idea of it was sobering to Merrin. She didn’t know how to process or feel about it. She had hated burying her sisters and had always wished to be done with it. 

But now that labor was over, what was she to do now?

Revenge? How? She was stuck on Dathomir with no way to leave. Even if she could leave the planet to search the greater galaxy, she had no knowledge of the worlds beyond Dathomir. How would she find the one guilty of her sisters’ massacre? All she knew was he wielded the weapons of another group of Magick users, like her Nightsisters. The weapon's name eluded her, but Ilyana had once called the wielders of blades of light to be called the Jedi. The founder of the Nightsisters had been a former Jedi named Allya. Besides this, Merrin had no knowledge of this enemy. And no way to hunt them to enact revenge.

Rebuild the Nightsister coven? Merrin may have been one of most skilled in magick among her sisters, even at a young age, but she held no knowledge or teachings of the martial Nightsisters trained as assassins and warriors. Nightsisters were both known for their magic and assassins, both equally important for a proper coven. And how was she to grow the covens numbers? The very idea of taking a Nightbrother as a mate was appalling, sickening. Merrin tolerated the Nightbrothers at best, using them as tools and servants, nothing more. To be completely honest she hated the Nightbrothers, and would never lay with one. 

Merrin had no real future that she wished for herself.

Wanting to get her minds of such thoughts, and as an act of respecting her sisters now that their burials were complete, Merrin went to go visit Ilyana on her cliff where she hung, watching Dathomir’s sunset. It seemed fitting to visit her pod after finishing her duty to her sisters. It was almost perfectly timed, as Merrin arrived at Ilyana’s cliff right as the sun began its descent below the horizon. 

Watching Dathomir’s sunsets was the only enjoyment Merrin had left. Food had long become tasteless to her, her sleeps attacked her mind with unyielding nightmares, and meditation while relaxing only reminded Merrin of the loss of Ilyana. The sunset reminded Merrin of her of the countless sunsets she had seen with Ilyana, while sitting on the grave vines near the Nightsister lair. Listening to Ilyana speak endlessly of her dreams and plans to travel the galaxy.

When the sun had fully lost itself in the distant horizon, and the low glow of Dathomir’s moons revealed the countless stars of the universe, Merrin continued watching the horizon wishing the sun would reveal itself and set once again. To keep Merrins mind focused on the few good memories she had. When no such miracle came to be, Merrin slipped into a deep meditation, hoping to feel the light of the red sun with her magick. 

The meditation only served to remind her of the missing light that was Ilyana’s presence in the magick of Dathomir. Every living thing radiated the darkness of the unforgiving planet. The only light left was the star that served as the planet's sun. Ilyana’s light had been bright and clear, unlike the red glare of the sun. Warm and inviting like the embrace of a loved one. An embrace Merrin would never experience again.

Her mind wandered back to her complete task and a heart wrenching question that she had never asked assaulted her.

‘Who will bury me, when my days end?’ Without a proper burial, a Nightsister cannot rest with her sisters and mother. Without a proper burial she would be lost to Ilyana.

A tear escaped her eyes, going unnoticed be the meditating Nightsister. Hoping to distract her mind and the torrent of emotions, she reached further out with her magick to sense more of the planet, and faltered. A glow revealed itself in the magick of the dark planet. More tears escaped as Merrin sensed the light that was traveling Dathomir. Identical to her Ilyana’s light was radiating from the north. She only felt it for a moment before her emotions forced her out of meditation, the magick dissipating. Panicked, she scrambled to force herself back into a meditative state to feel this light again. To confirm that it wasn’t a trick of the cruel planet or her even more cruel mind. But her magick had not deceived her, and she sensed the light once again. The planet had given her another light to latch onto, to focus on. Two years after Ilyana’s light was murdered along with her. 

Merrins hand came to her mouth, tempting to stifle her weeping, as tears now flowed freely down her face. She was once again forced out of meditation. Her last moments in the warmth of the light noticing it's path of travel. The light traveled slowly south, in a direct path to the canyon, to the mountain, to Merrin.


	3. Year 2-Discovery

The traveling further south over the past months hadn’t been as bad as the first year of traveling had been. As Cal proceeded south, the amount of bodies of water increased to much more comfortable levels. He no longer needed to rely on Dathomir’s infrequent rainfall, or at least it wasn’t a matter of life or death if it rained or not. 

At these bodies of water Cal never stopped for more than a few days, maybe a week. Giving himself time to rest, recuperate, and catch up much needed meditations. Never letting the dark influence of the planet get a permanent hold on him. 

Cal had no idea how long he had been trapped on Dathomir, a few months over a year was his best guess. At some point in his travels he would have turned 15. The knowledge of being older did little to help his situation, but it was at least partially comforting. He had lived longer than he had expected on this death trap of a planet. Time still goes on without him. The whole thought of it made him remember his time back at the temple. A time that now seems like ages ago to Cal. He wondered what some of the others he had grown up with were doing. He hadn’t seen any of his friends after he left the Jedi temple when he was chosen to be Master Tapal’s padawan. Many of his fellow younglings had been taken as padawans that day as well. He wondered what they were up to now. Were they safe? How was the war effort? Was the war still going on at all? Why had the 13th Battalion betrayed him and master? Did other clones betray their jedis as well, or was it just the 13th? Did anyone know what had accrued aboard the Albedo Brave?

All questions Cal wouldn't have the answer to any time soon. He may never get any answers at all. The young Jedi wasn’t at all optimistic about ever making off Dathomir.

Dealing with wildlife had gotten considerably easier, or really Cal had just gotten better at it. Luckily Cal had never had to fight off a rancor, only seeing a few over the past months, and always from afar. 

But even with his increased skill and combat prowis, it hadn’t stopped Cal from acquiring many more scars streaking across his body. Most of which were across his arms and legs, though a few had made it on his torso, neck, and face. 

The medkit had long run dry, forcing Cal to take longer rests to heal, and having to watch his wounds more closely for infection among other nasty things. The bundle of glow rods had run out shortly after, by pure accident. Cal had rolled over in his sleep, snapping the few rods he had left. One of his two rebreathers had been partially melted by those Dathomirian spiders that spit acid. Not that Cal had any use for them, nor could he use more than one at a time, even if he had a need for a rebreather. That didn’t keep him from keeping the one he still had that worked. He had long abandoned his cooking pots, finding he didn’t use them and they were too heavy and cumbersome for constant travel. But for some unknown reason Cal was still holding onto those six useless short range comlinks.

His robes, along with his bag, had to be replaced about a months back after accruing too many tares and acid holes. They had long been covered in stains ranging in colors from red, brown, yellow, and green. He now wore a simple cloth, made from the hide of one of those large three eyed lizards, wrapped around his waist. His few belongings, now held in a bag made from the same creature. The cloth covered his modesty but left his chest bare. Cal could make a larger one, to cover his chest as well, but found that he didn’t need to nor did he care to. Back when he had been a padawan he would never have dreamed of not being covered up, but no one was around to gawk at Cal’s scared and bruised ridden body. Dathomirian days and nights were never uncomfortably hot or cold, and rain was infrequent enough to not matter. 

After traveling for how many miles, Cal didn’t know, he had finally come upon something different to the flatlands and dead woods he had been traveling through sense descending down to Dathomir. A vast canyon system that went on as far as he could see in every direction. Like a giant scar from a long forgotten planetary wound. Pillars of stone reaching out of the endless canyon system, with the occasional mountain as well. The whole bottom of the scar is covered in swampland and the rare river. ‘So this is where all of Dathomir’s freshwater is?’ 

In the middle of this mass canyon system lay a single mountain that dwarfed all others around it. And at its top was Cal’s first sign of intelligent life. A massive stone temple-like structure that crowned the mountain peak it was carved into.

[Break]

The descent down into the swamplands at the bottom of Dathomir’s scar, was much easier than Cal had expected. There was a carved path he found while looking for a safe area to climb down. The path had blended into the cliffside, and only revealed itself to Cal upon closer inspection. The carved path snaked itself down the side of the cliff, sometimes making a dip into the stone. 

Upon closer inspection along the path Cal noticed several animal tracks, marked into the thin layer of red sand that coated the trail. Most of the tracks were that of the Dathomirian spiders, but one impression was of a creature Cal did not recognize. A large three toed creature that seemed to switch between a biped and quadruped. It's forward limbs had two large clawed fingers and a smaller third clawed finger. Whatever these tracks belong to Cal knew he had no wish to meet it.

Before Cal had no real plan other than head south endlessly until his meditations decided to reveal his goal or they changed the direction they were leading him to. But now it seems that his goal has been shown to him, or at least a part of it. The structure sculpted into the peak of the distant mountain, still miles of. From the bottom of the cliff Cal couldn’t even see the landmark. When he had been at the clifftop, he couldn't get any real detail out of the structure other than two giant obelisk-like structures that jetted out of the top. It reminded Cal of the jedi temple on Ilum for no other reason than they were both carved into the landscape. The temple on Ilum carved into a cliff of ice, and the Dathomirian structure carved into a mountain’s crown. 

Whether the structure was still in use, had anyone living in or near it, or what purpose it was built for Cal hadn’t the slightest idea. Nor did he know the reason the force was guiding him to this structure, and what lay in store for him when he got there. 

His master’s last words played back into the forefront of his mind; “Remember, trust only in the Force.”

But outside of the force’s push to the mountain Cal also felt the planet’s malevolent presence, it's connection to the dark side, also leading him to the temple as well. For what reasons was also unknown, but whatever they were, Cal didn’t trust the planet’s intentions. If it really was the planet to blame for this dark presence that followed Cal whenever too much time elapsed between meditations.

After well over a year on this red rock, Cal had begun to believe there weren't any sentient creatures on Dathomir. He really should have listened to the debriefing the clone commander gave when the 13th Battalion was first assigned to the Dathomirian star system. All the temple told him was that sentient creatures had at one point inhabited Dathomir, whether they still did was still up for debate as far as Cal was concerned. Or at least until Cal heard the scream of pain, that clearly wasn’t that of a beast but a person. It was too emotional and fearful, full of purpose to be a sound uttered by a beast. 

The sound had originated from further into the swamp, and was distant enough that if Dathomir’s wilds were anything but dead silent then Cal wouldn’t have heard the sound. Rushing towards the person that had uttered the sound, Cal rounded a smaller pillar of stone to find half a dozen Dathomirian spiders scuttling around a seemingly lifeless body. Cal had been too late. 

Filling with a rage Cal hadn’t known he was capable of. Cal lit his weapon, the sound and blue light alerting the spiders of Cal’s presence. Rushing the pack before they could spit at him, Cal felled two before they were able to respond, slicing them in two. Cal jumped back before the bodies could explode, and to avoid a glob of acid that had been aimed at his torso. Jumping back into the fray, Cal found himself falling into the rhythm of combat he had honed over his time on the planet. Having fought off Dathomirian spiders countless times before, and in larger numbers than this, it wasn’t long until the last spider had been ended. 

Making his way over to the body, avoiding the pools of spider gut acid, Cal had a closer look at the person he had failed to save. It was clearly a near humanoid species, almost like a zabrak with the many spikes that protruded from the head, along with the many tattoos that painted the corpse. The only reason Cal was hesitant on labeling it a Zabrak was it's color of skin. Zabraks usually had the same skin tones of humans, or a pale gray. But this person had sickly yellow skin that was nothing like a Zabrak from Iridonian, their home world. Perhaps it was a subspecies, because besides that unnatural skin color, it was clearly a Zabrak. 

His body was covered in many lacerations and bite marks, his red blood had a few splotches of a yellowish green liquid that was most likely the acidic poison from the spiders that killed him. He wore only a pair of pants made of animal pelts, much better than the cloth Cal used. Luckily the pants seemed to be mostly undamaged, and with a few small adjustments it would probably fit Cal rather nicely.

Next to the dead Dathomirian was a large mace, too large to be wielded in a single hand. Unlike the pants, the weapon was far from primitive in looks. Made of a black metal Cal couldn’t recognize, the weapon seemed to be well crafted and maintained. It seemed to be undamaged by the spider acid that covered it. Unlike the rebreather Cal had lost to spider acid a while back.

After liberating the man of his pants, that he would no longer need, Cal started to dig a grave using the force to move the dirt and stones. The work was faster than Cal had expected, the swampland having soft earth with few large stones. It wasn’t long until an adequately deep hole had been made, deep enough for Cal to stand in without his head reaching the top.

Cal moved the body into its new resting place, before covering it with dirt, as well as several layers of stones to ward off animals from digging up the grave and eating the corpse. He intended to use the mace as the grave’s marker, and went to retrieve the weapon.

Moments before his hand touched the weapon, he was filled with a sensation that washed over his body, bringing with it a sense of familiarity. He hesitated, pulling his hand back before it reached the mace handle. The sensation was familiar to him, but he couldn’t quite place it. All he knew is that it pulled on his sense of the force. He went for the weapon again, and once again hesitated moments before making contact, the sensation once again washing over him.

Steeling himself, he reached for the weapon for one last time. The uproar washed over him again, growing a hundredfold when his fingers made contact. He quickly found himself looking through the eyes of another. He was in an open arena, made of red sandstone, clearly still on Dathomir. As the vision came to him, a word popped into his mind; Nightbrother. Many Dathomirians, now known to be Nightbrothers watched on as the person Cal could see through faced off against another Nightbrother. The Nightbrother Cal had the vision off was the same Yellow skinned Nightbrother Cal had just buried. The Yellow Nightbrother faces a Nightbrother who was a good head taller than him, with a build to match. This one had pale almost pink red skin, wielding a large two handed sword. The Yellow one carried his mace.

The pink one charged, aiming for an overhand swing. Yellow met the blow with his mace, swinging upwards trying to throw the other weapon off balance. Instead the colossal sword’s swing had too much power behind it for the mace to stop it. The yellow Nightbrother’s weapon flew from his hands, he had lost. The pink Nightbrother now has the option to kill his opponent or spare him. The winning Nightbrother gives a victorious smirk before lowering his weapon. The loser has been spared, a humiliation that will see him cast aside, exiled from the village to fend for his own in the wilds of Dathomir.

As the vision fades back into the present, Cal looks down at the mace in his grip. Turning it over in his hand, there is a nick in the mace’s head. Where the large sword had damaged it with it's massive swing. Looking over at the grave of the exiled Nightbrother, Cal remembered the emotions he had shared with the losing Nightbrother through the vision; the echo in the force.

That's where Cal had felt that sensation before. Psychometry the ability to tap into echos in the force. Allowing the force users gifted with this rare ability to acquire information, sight, sound, and emotions from events associated with an item. Cal Kestis was one of these few.

He had forgotten about his ability over his time stuck on Dathomir. He hadn’t run into any echoes while on the planet until now. He had even forgotten the feeling of an echo’s presence.

Having finally retrieved the weapon, Cal placed it at the head of the grave, driving the handle half way into the ground. 

He backed up from the grave, giving a silent moment for the deceased. The last thought that came to mind before moving on was; Will there be anyone to bury me, or to light the fire of my pyre?

[Break]

A few days down in the planet's scar, and travel had slowed down to a crawl. The landscape was filled with obstacles that slowed the jedi’s travel at best, at worst forced him to turn back to find a new path. The wet ground made travel slow and exhausting. Large stone pillars and walls can stop travel completely and force Cal to find another way. Wildlife seemed to be more aggressive than before, attacking him at every turn. The only real comfort was the over abundance of water and food to hunt and scavenge. 

Nights are particularly dangerous making sleeping out in the open less a gamble and more a death sentence. 

Another day in the swamplands of the canyon was about to end, and Cal needed to find some kind of shelter soon or risk facing the dangers of Dathomir in the dark.

A few dozen feet up a stone pillar was a natural cavity, that would provide more than adequate shelter. Few Dathomirian creatures were expert climbers. Even the Dathomirian spiders couldn’t climb straight up solid rock. Starting his accent up the rockwall, he had made it only a few feet from the cavern when felt, more than saw, movement from above him. Jumping the few dozen feet to the ground below, Cal narrowly missed the large mass that had attempted to collide with him. He fell skillfully down to the base of the pillar, rolling to cushion the fall. The creature that had swung it's massive arm looked down at him from above, before jumping over the edge to follow the jedi. Cal was forced to bolt out of the way, the creature landing with a thud where he had been standing moments ago. 

This large, seemingly biped beast was easily two or three times larger than himself, and probably five times the weight. With a thick gray scaly hide with bony protrusions lining it's back and arms, its two legs seemingly built for climbing and jumping across the mountains and swamplands in which it lives. No wonder it went unfazed by the fall. It's two massive arms were as long as Cal was tall, with three dagger-like claws protruding from it's fingers. It's lipless mouth showed large, intimidatingly sharp teeth, it's mouth flanked on both sides by a pair of tusks. The two pitch black eyes holding no emotion or intelligence as it gazed at Call.

“Why is every creature on this Force forsaken rock absolutely terrifying?!” His out of practise voice coughed at the beast.

The monster lunged at Cal, swinging it's massive arm with its full body weight at the jedi. Cal rolled under the beast's attack, illuminating his weapon and cutting at its feet. The creature screamed in pain, swiftly making distance between itself and Cal, the wound on it's right leg mostly superficial.

If the creature's emotionless eyes didn’t give its state of mind away, it howls of pain and fury most definitely did.

Another reckless swing aimed at him, this time coming much faster. And with Cal still recovering from the previous attack, he is given little option other than to block. Muscle and hide clashed against blue plasma. For a split moment the hide of the beast resisted the blade, Cal fearing that it's hide may resist his weapon. But the fear was dashed when the hide was severed, followed by the beast’s muscle and bone, it's left arm was sundered off at the wrist. The blow still had weight behind it, knocking Cal back, but he was given ample time to recover as the creature grasped at the damaged appendage. 

The next attack of the creature was slow, and it's weight was thrown off by its missing arm. Dodging under the right arm, Cal swung upwards, cutting its other weapon. The creature collapsed onto the ground with a thud. Bounding onto it's back, Cal thrust the blue blade into the predator’s skull, killing it.

A short but exhausting fight against another one of Dathomir’s nightmare creatures.

Unbeknownst to the exhausted jedi, a small hunting party of Nightbrothers had watched the confrontation unfold from afar. Departing soon after Cal made his way up the cliff to the cavern. The Nightsister would want to know of the foreigner wielding the weapon of a Jedi, who was able to kill a Nydak with little danger.

[Break]

The last many months Merrin’s time had been predominantly devoted to meditations. Not because she wished to grow more skilled in her Magicks, nor was it out of devotion to her craft. The light she had sensed during a visit to Ilyana’s cliff had quickly become her obsession, naming it the Light of Dathomir. She watched it through her meditations as it marched on its path to the mountain, a direct path to her. Just a few weeks ago it had entered the canyon/swampland that surrounded the Mountain in which she lived. 

Merrin wouldn’t lie, a small part of her hoped the Light’s direct path to the Nightsister burial grounds ment it was coming for her. What was giving off this light in Dathomir’s magick she had no clue, and it didn’t really matter to her. All she cared about was that traveling ever closer in her direction, and one day it would reach her. She would hold on to this light like her life depended on it. In some ways she felt it did. If she wore to lose this like she had lost Ilyana her heart would surely break. She wouldn’t let this light be lost to her.

Some part of her mind knew she only cared about this Light because it reminded her of Ilyana, and her light. But this didn’t stop her from swiftly gaining a dependence on her meditation to view the Light.

Just as Merrin was about to start another session of meditation she was interrupted. 

An elderly Nightbrother who was often forced to carry messages and news from the Nightbrother village, halfway up the mountain, to Merrin near the peak. A tortures climb, not taking into account his age. When a Nightbrother grows too old to be a member of a hunting party they are usually treated one of two ways. Either they become a well respected member of the village that is honored for surviving to old age, or they are treated like dirt shamed for being useless to the Nightbrother village. This Nightbrother seems to be the latter. To Merrin it seemed that the deciding factor for how one is treated is based on the Nightbrother’s personality, and how they carry themselves rather than how skilled they had been as a hunter.

“Why have you desturbed me.” Spoken in the Dathomirian language. “It was made clear that I would have no distractions from your village.” She spoke in a low, scathing tone.

The elderly Nightbrother acted as if Merrin’s words had cut him like a knife. He cowered away, fearful of the Nightsister. It was almost amusing really. He was old enough to be Merrin’s grandfather. For all she knew he very well could be. Nightbrothers are used as breeding tools by the Nightsisters, and are never kept around to raise the infant sisters. 

“N-news of a foreigner sighted in the swamplands north of here.” The Nightbrother hid behind the door frame of her place of dwelling, hoping to avoid the Nightsisters' hard gaze.

This news was at least interesting. It wasn’t often foreigners were seen on Dathomir. When they did come to the planet, they usually went to the flatlands to hunt and capture Rancor pups. Why anyone wanted such creatures was beyond Merrin. Nightsisters could only tame the creatures through strong magicks. 

Though the information was intriguing it was hardly important. The message could have been related to her during one of her routine visits down to the Nightbrother village she took once a moon cycle. The foreigner would either leave soon, finding the planet too dangerous, or die.

“Why does this news warrant my immediate attention!” Her words harsh with a warning undertone. His safety depending on the response given.

“He carried w-with him a sword of plasma. A j-jedi’s weapon. He was seen slaying a Nydak with it, two weeks' travel north of here.” The Nightbrother clarified. 

When Merrin jumped to her feet in rage, the Nightbrother collapsed onto the floor. Believing her wrath was aimed at him. But what had enraged the Nightsister was the news itself, rather than the messenger.

How dare a Jedi step foot on Dathomir, a kin of the ones who massacred her sisters and killed her beloved Ilyana. For what reason had they come back? To finish what they had started? To relish in the crime they had committed? 

But Merrins anger was soon replaced with pleasure. A smile taking hold on her face. With the coming of this Jedi came opportunity. The opportunity to gain some amount of revenge for her sisters’ death. To see slain the foe of her lost coven. It would be a small victory, but her sisters and mother practically called out to her to perform this new task of hunting and slaying this enemy.

She went over to the Nightbrother, too paralized by fear to scurry away from the Nightsister. Reaching her hand out to him, the Nightbrother only took it because refusing the instruction, even if non verbal, of a Nightsister was never an option for a Nightbrother. It went against everything they were taught. 

Helping him to his feet, she relayed instructions for him to go down to the Nightbrother village and have the hunting party that had seen the Jedi to come up the mountain. Merrin needed to know every detail of their sighting of the jedi. She would not fail at this task.

[Break]

Cal absolutely hated this planet’s swamplands. Seemingly impossible to travel in a straight line. He had to make detour after detour, and often was forced to backtrack and find another way. Lakes of quicksand, nests of Dathomirian spiders, and sudden landslides. Cal was lucky if all he ran into in a single day was deep swampland that would take hours to travel more than a mile in. More often than not he would be forced to backtrack, taking another few hours, so he could find another path all together. 

All the while the swamps wildlife were dead silent. 

Though Cal believed he was finally starting to learn how to read the land, which paths would force him back, and which were true. Thanks to this developing skill his travels were starting to move faster than a crawl. He could finally see the mountain above the horizon (when he climbed a tree). His goal was now in sight, and for once seemed more than just a theoretical. 

But something was off.

Cal listened to the swampland around him, and yes something was very off. A scout trooper had once told Cal that if the forest of a planet suddenly went silent, something was off, and that one should start paying extra attention to the world around them.

This advice had never helped Cal on Dathomir. The planet was almost completely silent, be it day, night, dawn, or dusk. Only ever interrupted by rain, the noise Cal would make as he walked, or moments before some Dathomirian beast was about to take a bite out of him. The constant stillness was almost maddening. 

But right now the surrounding wilderness was practically screaming at Cal.

The birds screeched their songs that froze the blood, beating their wings violently. Lizards yelling with all their being, slapping their tails, and sometimes bodies against whatever was closest. Insects chirping and ruffling together with honest intent. All of Dathomir’s nature booming with all it's worth.

To be honest Cal preferred the silence over the overwhelming noise.

But with this racket Cal felt something. A message maybe? More like a warning. And with that thought the swampland choir abruptly stopped. The quiet returning only for a moment before being filled again with a new noise. The ‘thwish’ of a tight string being released, and the ‘buzz’ of hot plasma burning the air as it flew through the sky.

Acting on a mix of instinct and the pull of the force, Cal lunged to his right. A purple plasma bolt flew over the spot he had occupied a moment ago. The bolt would have burned a hole to his heart had he not moved. 

Turning to face his assailant, Cal saw three Nightbrothers about twenty meters away. All carried plasma bows, two drawn back and aimed. The two readied shots were released, soaring at their intended target with deadly accuracy. In the time it took for the purple bolts to cover the distance, Cal illuminated the blue lightsaber. With practiced precision, drilled into him over years of training long abandoned but not forgotten, Cal intercepted the killing shots with his saber. The bolts reflected in random directions.

“I don’t want to fight you!” 

The middle Nightbrother answered with a sneer before yelling in a language unknown to Cal. ‘Great! They don’t speak Galactic Common.’ The only word he recognized was “Jedi”, so they definitely knew what he was but still chose to attack him.

They drew their bows back for another volley, this time with all three aimed.

“Pleas-”

The volley flew. Cal, deciding they wouldn’t or couldn't listen, reflected the attacks back with intent. Two of the Nightbrothers crumbled from their own shoots burning into themselves. The third was lucky enough to have only taken the plasma into his dominant shoulder, making it impossible to draw his weapon.

Cal let the Nightbrother flee, not liking the idea of running the injured man down. ‘I really hope I don’t regret this later’

[Break]

He regrets it. That first ambush was only the beginning. The whole swampland that days ago seemed empty was now filled with hunting parties ranging in numbers from two to half a dozen. All of the gunning for Cal. 

The Nightbrothers seem to be able to move through the landscape as silently as the wildlife. And could disappear and travel through it astonishingly fast. The only warnings Cal ever got was the wilds screaming, disturbing the silence of the planet. Oddly enough his hunters never seemed to notice the swampland choir.

For what reason he was hunted? Was it for the two he had killed in self defence? Doughtfull, they had attacked him first, and somehow knew he was a jedi.

He had tried on multiple occasions to try and speak to the Nightbrothers, and they only responded in Dathomirian. From what Cal could gather they were most likely just yelling profanities, insults and threats at him.

Cal was pretty sure the whole planet had it out for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I'm going to start revealing the name of the next chapter in the end notes. So here...  
> Next Chapter: Chapter 4-Year 3-Loss
> 
> Next Chapter should be up next Saturday.


	4. Year 3-Loss

The foot of the mountain was at last within reach. No longer just in thought or sight, but under Cal’s feet. He had made it to the mountain. He had finally made it to his destination, more or less. His real goal was the ancient structure Cal had sighted all so long ago. A structure that Cal couldn’t even see at the moment. The red mist of Dathomir was much thicker this day, obscuring the top half of the natural wonder, and hiding Cal’s true objective from his eyes. 

It had taken him, at a guess, around a year to travel the distance from the path into the planet's scar to this alp. Traveling across miles of hostile swampland, fighting off the deadly wildlife, and avoiding Nightbrother hunters whenever possible.

It took Cal no time at all to find an appropriate path up the mountain. Following the tracks of Nightbrother’s had shown the way. The path was wide, subtle, and littered with humanoid tracks. It seemed the Nightbrothers either lived on this mountain, or visited frequently. Whether this would be for hunting, worship, or something else Cal could only really guess.

Making his way up the start of the wide trail up the mountain, Cal looked back at the swampland behind him. Despite being an absolute death trap, the Dathomirian swamps held a sense of security to them, they were familiar. This mountain was new and unknown. Back when Cal had been an apprentice his sense of adventure would have driven him forward. Master Tapal had always said Cal was drawn to wonder and the unfamiliar. Traveling across the galaxy was one of the few upsides to the war. Always a new, always an unknown.

But after spending years on Dathomir everything new and unfamiliar scared him. Making him hesitate to travel up this unfamiliar terrain.

And no sooner did the thought of turning back leave his mind when something changed. A presence in the force. Cal hadn’t been the best when it came to sensing lifeforms through the force. His lack of skill had only become more apparent while on Dathomir. Usually he only sensed something moments before it pounced. Leaving little time to respond. His force senses only peaked when someone who was force sensitive was near, usually other jedi. So when Cal felt this presence behind him, back up the path he had temporarily turned from, he had been filled with a false feeling of comfort. But turning back around soon made it clear that it wasn’t another jedi Cal had perceived. 

A cloud of green smoke and mist dissipated to unveil four Nightbrothers as well as one other individual, the one who Cal had felt through the force. Flanked by two Nightbrothers, on each side, each pair having one wielding a plasma bow and the other a two handed mace. She was dressed in blood red and stone gray robes, with a matching red hood piece that covered her whole head besides her face. What little skin Cal could see was light gray, painted with gray tattoos only a few shades darker than the skin. Because so little of her face showed, it was hard for Cal to guess her age. Her brown eyes glared daggers at the Jedi before her. Cal didn’t need the force to feel her hostility aimed at him. The hate was far deeper than Cal could understand. ‘This is not looking good’

“You trespass, Jedi” Her voice though reprimanding and hostile, Cal still felt a little comfort in it. Her accent carried her words with confidence and power that he enjoyed more than he really should have. ‘It has been too long since I have heard others voice outside of my own, and Nightbrothers shouting insults and threats I don't care to understand.’

His own response held little confidence, his nerves failing him. “I-I’m sorry. I have been stranded on this planet for years. I only wish to find some way off Dathomir. I just need a little help. I am no threat to you.” His words turned almost pleading as he spoke.

His words floored the Nightsister. This response was far from what Merrin had expected from the Jedi. Her expectations of why the Jedi was here had been entirely different. She had expected him to be seeking the life of the last Nightsister, to finish what the last jedi had started. Or he was looking for some artifact or treasure on the planet. But to only be seeking some way off the planet he had supposedly been stranded on had the Nightsister’s mind faltering, but only for a split moment. Her body and face failing to register her surprise and confusion. 

“You lie!” Merrin spat “Jedi are nothing but liars that bring nothing but death to Dathomir! Your people's presence will not be tolerated!”

As she yelled Merrin gathered the planet's magick into her palms. Her jedi opponent stepping back in alarm. Casting her spell, a green vapor enveloped the two mace wielding Nightbrothers. Their weapons coated with ichor to resist the sundering plasma blade of the Jedi. Their bodies, infused with magick to numb pain and exhaustion to a powerful degree. Strengthening their muscles and reactions to match the skill of combat this Jedi possessed. Many of her hunting parties in the past had come back injured from fighting this warrior. Not one hunter had ever been able to touch him, let alone harm him to any degree. But with her magick bolstering her hunters, this would surely change.

Cal watched on as the green fumes enveloped two of the Nightbrothers. Whatever it was doing to them, it was most definitely not good news for Cal. 

The two mace wielders, one with green skin the other orange, charged Cal with a speed he hadn’t been expecting. Cal’s weapon was armed in moments, deflecting the plasma bolts the two Nightbrother archers had fired at Cal. One bolt deflected into the green mace wielder, failing to slow his charge. The other bolt reflected harmlessly into the air. 

The two mace wielders were on top of Cal not a moment later, the orange one taking the first swing. His weapon coming from the right. Cal dodged the attack only to find himself in the path of his other attackers swing. Cal raised his weapon up to meet the mace, hoping to cut the weapon in two like he had done before when attacked by Nightbrothers. But instead his weapons path had been halted by the mace, locking the weapons together. ‘That's new.’ Kicking the green Nightbrother to end the weapon lock, and to give himself some room, Cal felt a force strike his back. His skin burned and boiled under the hostile touch of this unknown force. 

Turning, Cal sighted the robed figure, green energy in her hands. She must have shot this green force into my back. ‘When had she gotten behind me?’

He wasn’t given any time to think as another attack from the orange mace wielder was incoming, accompanied with two purple bolts of plasma. Rolling out of the three deadly attacks paths, Cal had misjudged which direction to escape to. 

He found himself still partially crouched on the ground, from his roll, with a downward death stroke from the green Nightbrothers mace heading his way. Pivoting on his right leg, using the force to enhance his movements, Cal turned his body with the direction of the weapons path. This turned the would-be direct and deadly hit into a glancing blow on Cal’s left ribs. This no doubt bruising or breaking a few. Cal then retreated back words, avoiding more of the robed figures green energy that Cal was really coming to hate at this point.

Cal found himself exhausted with bruised and broken ribs, and a burned hole in his back. Luckily there was a slight break in combat, as the mace Nightbrothers closed the distance and the figure and archers readied their next attacks. Taking these precious seconds, Cal took hold of the force.

Wielding the force like a battering ram, Cal pushed with great power at his assailants. They toppled over, as invisible masses slammed into them. 

Without hesitation Cal fled back down the path, away from the mountain he had traveled to. His injuries temporarily numbed from the adrenalin. All but the burn, which still set his skin boiling. He gave no time for the five to recover. 

As he fled, the robed figure screeched at him in Dathomirian. Her words lassed with rage, defeat, and another emotion that Cal wasn’t sure he was hearing right. Grief. 

[Break]

The elderly Nightbrother messenger swiftly left after giving his report to Merrin, fearful of the Nightsisters growing displeasure. Another hunting party sent to hunt and kill the Jedi had come back empty handed. 

The Jedi had been injured from their fight weeks ago, but after his use of Jedi magick he fled. He had not been seen since. No matter how many hunting parties she sent after him to hunt him down, or patrol around the foot of the mountain. He had avoided/hidden from all of them. All the hunters ever found were tracks that suddenly ended or led to an abandoned camp, often with the fire still burning. It was the only thing that told the Nightsister that the Jedi was still living in the swampland near the mountain.

It infuriated her to no end. How this foreigner was able to hide from the best Nightbrother trackers and pathfinders that grew up hunting and surviving on Dathomir. Merrin wasn’t sure if she should be angry with the failure of her hunters or begrudgingly impressed with the Jedi. His skills with avoiding the Nightbrothers was clear.

All this focus on hunting the Jedi has driven Merrin to mental exhaustion. It didn’t help that her sleep schedule was practically non existent. She hadn’t slept in days. Her fear of the nightmares ,that are sure to rear their ugly heads if she were to succumb to sleep, keeping her from resting to any significant amount. 

The only activity she allowed herself that shadowed on real rest was her daily meditation. It was her only real comfort. Sensing the Light of Dathomir calmend her to an addictive degree. Giving her body some semblance of repose, even if her mind wasn’t given the same. 

Merrin would spend hours reaching out with her magick to feel the Light, follow it as it traversed the land at the foot of the mountain. The Light had finally made its way to the mountain, but in the weeks since it had yet to ascend the mountain, had yet to make its way to her. The paths the Light picked as it moved around the base of the mountain seemed random, like it was unsure of what it wanted to do. Only knowing it didn’t want to stray too far from the mountain, too far from Merrin.

Merrin had half a mind todescend the peak, and look for whatever was producing the light in Dathomir’s magick. But these ideas never got very far, only ever taking her out of her home before she changed her mind. Her light would make its way to her in due time, it had to. It had been traveling here for over a year, it's destination was clear. Merrin didn’t want to force the encounter, and the Nightsister believed herself patient enough.

But in truth there was another reason as well. Merrin was scared. Scared of what she may find, or worse not find. What if the producer of this light wasn’t what she expected? What if there was nothing at all, a trick of the cruel planet? Or the light wanted nothing to do with Merrin, and it's path to her mountain was pure coincidence and nothing more? But what she feared most was if she found and held onto this light, it would be taken from her again like Ilyana was. Such an outcome would shatter the already broken Nightsister. 

[Break]

Cal woke with a start. The wilds of the planet were once again screaming at him. It was a familiar warning that Nightbrothers trackers were close to finding him. He was standing before his eyes had fully opened, his few possessions already set to grab and leave. He kept his small camps ready for when he would need to leave swiftly. Always warned by the planet before he was found.

Cal’s was relatively sure that this wildlife alarm was anything but natural. The Nightbrothers seemingly never taking notice of it.

But it wasn’t just due to the planet's intervention that Cal survived with hunters closing in from all directions. In his time on Dathomir he had learned the planet well, and coupled with his force enhanced abilities and senses, it wasn’t surprising the Nightbrother pathfinders couldn’t catch him. Their very own planet was working against them. Why? Cal had no idea, and he wasn’t really complaining. It was keeping him alive and that was all he really could hope for.

He was in no state to be fighting anything besides smaller creatures for food. Cal’s injuries from his encounter with the robed figure, that wielded a strange form of the force, had yet to heal completely. Being constantly on the move to avoid his hunters wasn’t helping either. His broken ribs made every movement and breath agonizing. But it failed to compare to the energy burn on his back. Even now many weeks later it still held a slit burn to it, making it more than a little difficult to sleep or meditate. 

Being sleep deprived, injured, and behind on meditations. Luckily food and water had always been easy enough to come by in the swamp, but he was hardly stable. 

Cal knew he should leave, he doubted the hunters would follow him far from the mountain. But he couldn’t bring himself to leave. These Nightbrothers were the only sentient life he had seen in years, and the robed figure the only one who spoke Galactic Common. He doubted he would find any others anytime soon, or ever at all. And the force was still pointing him to the structure on the mountain, and truthfully he still wanted to venture there to know why. The only reason he hadn’t attempted to ascend the mountain was because he wanted to be completely healed before entering the eye of the storm.

[Break]

Cal had decided weeks ago that it would do him some good to move further from the mountain. He needed time for his injuries to heal properly, and being constantly on the run from hunters near the mountain kept that from happening. He also needed to get back on his schedule of meditation, as the planet was slowly deteriorating him without it. Eating away at his mind like a parasite to a host. His meditations were his only safeguard and repair from degradation. 

And being away from the mountain had helped in all these regards. While his side still hurt, it was more of a dull pain that the debilitating ache that it had been. After intense meditation his burn no longer held it's unnatural boil and had joined the many other scars that peppered his body. His meditations keep his mind safe from the dark presence of Dathomir.

After healing up to a degree that had Cal confident in his ability to defend himself against beast, Nightbrother, or mysterious force user, he had set out for the mountain once again. Set on finally making it to the structure at the peak. 

Making his way through the swampland, a blood curdling screech shook the land to its very core. Halting his pace, Cal looked across the landscape he found himself in, unable to pinpoint the direction of the noise. Not that he really wanted to find the origin of the terrifying wail. 

Suddenly one of those large, tusked long limbed creatures came barreling through the swampland. Odd, as they tended to stick closer to the mountain and other rocky terrains of the planetary scar. Readying his stance for the creature's inevitable charge, Cal was surprised that no such charge occurred. The beast bounded past the Jedi with incredible speed, ignoring him completely. Again odd. The creature looked almost panicked, but truthfully it was hard to tell based on the creature's small black eyes that failed to convey any emotions. 

Moments later another screech was heard, much closer now. The flora around Cal thrashed wildly from the beating of unnatural winds that swept through. A shadow flew over Cal, seemingly following the previous beast. Looking up Cal was frozen and turned pale. If the screech was blood curdling then the site of its presumed origin was blood chilling. A bat like creature the size of the largest of rancors, with a wingspan wide enough to carry its mass with ease. 

It screeched for a third time, before descending to pluck the fleaing beast, like one plucks a berry from a bush.

[Break]

It was very clear to Merrin that the Nightbrothers were growing more and more restless with the passing months. Almost daily there is at least one argument that doesn't handle itself, and ends up turning into a fight in the arena. The hunters come back from hunts with more injuries than expected, usually due to recklessness and attempts at great feats that are beyond their abilities. All in an attempt to show off, to make themselves stand out among their peers. On her rare trips down to the Nightbrother village, they watched her closely. They still viewed her with fear, but their gazes held much more, and it disgusted the Nightsister to no end.

She knew what was causing the Nightbrothers to behave in such a manner, and it was herself. Under Dathomirian culture Merrin had long since become an adult. Meaning she was able to take a Nightbrother as a mate. A Nightsister was by no means required to take a Nightbrother as a mate upon making adulthood, nor ever really. Many Nightsisters had grown old without copulating with a Nightbrother, preferring to stay abstinent or bed a fellow Nightsister instead. Merrin had always expected to be one of these, but that was before Ilyana had been lost to her forever. She had promised Ilyana, and Ilyana had promised her in return. But that life was gone.

But being the only Nightsister perhaps the Nightbrothers had expected her to take one of their number as a breeder to rebuild the coven. And the very thought was revolting to Merrin. She shuddered at the very thought of having a Nightbrother in her bed, it was sickening. 

Nightbrothers were little more than animals to the Nightsisters. Animals had no place in her bed. They were to be used and tossed away without a second thought. Tools, servants to the Nightsisters. Nothing but cowards that feared and worshiped the Nightsisters like deities. They are stupid and care for nothing but pure strength. They could never make suitable partners.

And Merrin desired a partner, not a seed bank.

But all of this doesn't change the fact the Nightsister needed to put a halt to this unrest in the Nightsister village. ‘But how is one expected to accomplish this?’

The question had only just sprung into her mind when an answer was given to her. A familiar screech vibrated the mountain and the swampland below. Gorgara, the other queen of the mountain, had returned from a hunt. The massively oversized female Chirodacryl had been more than a simple pain in Merrin’s side since she had been here. Hunting exclusively Nydaks and Nightbrothers. Gorgara was the only one of her kind in the area, having chased off or killed all others. Killing Gorgara would be a legendary feat that no Nightbrother would be capable of. 

A Nightsister usually chose a mate by declaring a ‘Selection’, and the victor of the three trials in selection would be taken as a breeder and servant by the Nightsister that declared the ‘Selection’. But Selection was not the only way a Nightsister could choose a mate, it was just the norm. A Nightsister could come up with any text, challenge, or competition to find herself a suitable Nightbrother.

Merrin would declare to the whole of the Nightbrother village that the one to slay Gorgara would win the honor of being taken by the Nightsister as a mate. The Nightbrothers could not deny a Nightsister’s challenge, nor would they risk harming their pride in refusing the challenge. Leaving Merrin to remain mateless, while still keeping the Nightbrothers in check. It was the perfect solution. 

‘And who knows, if someone does accomplish the task maybe it would be a sign?’

[Break]

The mountain looked no different than when Cal had first viewed it from under its shadow, except now the peak wasn’t shrouded in a red dry mist. But the mass of rock had a different feel to it now. After his fight with the Nightbrothers and robed figure he couldn’t look at the mountain the same. It had slightly less mystery to it now, but what little Cal was shown had tried to kill him for no other reason than he was a jedi. The robed force user in particular had shown particular hatred for his kind. 

Despite it all, Cal was going to make another crack at making it to the peak and unveiling the secrets the structure holds. To find out why the force had led him here. 

But Cal knew he wanted to avoid another fight with the same group as before, at all costs. He wasn’t sure if he would survive such an encounter again. If he did then what state would he be in after? He chose a less clear path up the mountain instead. Though Cal really hesitated calling it a path at all. It was mostly ledges and cliffs to climb. Without his force enhanced abilities, he was sure climbing the mountain in such a way would be impossible without equipment. There probably wasn’t a harder rout he could have taken short of climbing up a sheer cliff.

About halfway to the peak Cal made his way up to a large flat rock structure that allowed for a short respite. Taking a seat he leaned his back against a cliff that he would surely have to climb in a bit. But before his muscles were given any break a distinct cry was heard from above. Looking up, Cal spotted one of those long limbed, tusked predators atop the cliff he was currently resting against. But this individual was clearly different from the rest of his kind. Bigger, light blue instead of the typical faded brown. Covered in countless scars that told of a long life of combat and hardship. 

The beast pounced down from atop the cliff, aiming to crush Cal under its leap. From his sitting position it was a little more difficult to escape. The jedi pushed off the cliff wall and narrowly rolled away before he was flattened. His weapon was in his hands and alight, casting a blue glow across his face, before the creature landed on the ground with an audible ‘thud’. 

More than confident in his ability to dispatch such a creature, Cal aimed an upward stroke at one of the creature's arms. The intent was to sever the appendage. Instead the creature's skin was slow to cut, and the blade of plasma was stopped upon reaching the bone of the right arm. Too surprised to swiftly react and make a plan to counter a swing from the left arm, Cal reacted on pure survival instinct. 

Bringing up his free left arm to shield his body as he jumped pack, Cal more heard than felt his hand ripping from it's socket at the wrist rather than felt it. The sound reminded Cal of the times he butchered an animal carcass in preparation for cooking it. The meaty sound of muscle and skin tearing. The bone shattering and foulding rather than cutting cleanly. His exposed blood vessels spraying him and the immediate area with a mist of their contents.

The adrenalin numbed his arm, and his mind focused on the creature ignoring the lost limb. His eyes never betraying him with a glance at the damage. 

He jumped back again, avoiding a follow up swing from the other arm. Swing after swing was thrown at the crippled jedi, the monster putting it's full weight behind every blow. What attacks Cal couldn’t pairy, he was forced to retreat. Soon he had been pushed back to the cliff edge, inches from a fall. The creature changed it's pattern, attempting to kill its prey without forcing it over the edge. Bringing both its arms up in preparation to slam down to crush Cal. Cal took the opportunity when he saw it, sprinting past the creature away from the edge. 

The escape, though successful, left him with his back against a cliff wall rather than a cliff edge. Arguably a worse position to be in. 

Cal mustered all the power he had to push the beast back with the force, hopefully over the edge. But exhaustion coupled with his blood loss caused the push to falter. The wall of force hit the creature with little weight behind it, only causing a stagger rather than toppling it over the edge. ‘Shit!’

The creature charged the short distance, wanting to crush the jedi against the rock behind him. With the last of his energy Cal ran up the wall, jumping over the charge. His weapon slashed down, cutting at the creatres skull. A fatal blow. He landed behind the creature with less grace than would be expected of a Jedi, the adrenaline began to drain from his muscles and mind.

Sadly the dying creature wasn't finished. Its brain's last demand to the body swung the whole of itself at the jedi. It went brain dead before it hit it's target. But it did hit its target. The force taking the unprepared warrior over the edge, and knocking his weapon from his grasp. 

[Break]

In her meditations Merrin has been keeping track of the Light as it moved across the swampland below. A few weeks ago it had stopped it's random movements around the swampland at the base of the mountain and moved further away. When it had done so Merrin’s panic had been immense, fearing it was leaving for good, forever lost to her. But after it moved away from the mountain's shadow it just stayed still, seemingly waiting for something. A small voice in her head had told her the Light was waiting for her, but Merrin knew better to listen to such voices. The planet was well known for speaking in one’s ear with ill intent. 

But just a few days ago the Light began to move again. Once again it made its way to the mountain with a much faster pace than when it left. Her heart had leapt when it started making its way up the mountain. But luck was not on the Nightsisters' side, as she was interrupted in her meditation. Sightings of the Jedi near the mountain had called her away.

The jedi hadn’t been seen since their encounter long ago. And soon after all trails of him went cold. Merrin half believed he had been eaten by a beast, or done in by the will of the planet itself. But it seems the jedi had returned, and according to the Nightbrother who had sighted him, fully recovered from the injuries she and her hunters had inflicted upon him. 

By the time she had finished listening to the reports and returned to her meditation the light had disappeared from the mountain. Anxiety returned to her as she reached out with her magic to search the mountain. Nowhere to be found. Broadening her search to the swampland below, she finally regained her sense of the Light. It was at the base of the mountain, seemingly fleaing it once again. Slower than last time, but she could feel it's urgency. 

Before it had been a light brighter than the sun in her meditation, able to be sensed like a fire on a moonless night. Now it was dimed, still clear and warm, but smaller. 

Once again the idea of going after the Light herself came to mind. This time with the urgency to claim the Light and keep it safe from all that may seek to harm it. But those ideas had left her moments after they made themselves known. The same fears still halted her pursuit.

Another interruption ripped Merrin out of her meditation as well as her turbulent mental state. Feeling partially numb, all she could do was turn in the direction of her interrupter. Her face betraying nothing of her state of mind. 

The elderly Nightbrother messenger had returned, and seemed to be carrying something bundled in a cloth. 

“For what reason have I been interrupted?” Her voice carried no venom, but that didn’t stop the Nightbrother from flinching at her words. The cloth bundle slipped from his shaky grip. 

It hit the stone floor with a mix of a dulled metallic ‘clang’, and a wet meaty ‘thud’. Looking closer, the cloth was a dirty beige with fresh blood stains. Her interest peaked, Merrin got up from her sat position and retrieved the bundle. The Nightbrother paralized at the Nightsisters approach. Unwrapping the cloth, Merrin grimaced at the contents upon first glance. Then she took a closer look and was partially amused.

Looking to the elder Nightbrother, he flinched as if her very gaze stung. “Where did you find these?” 

“A group of hunters found them next to the body of the Alpha Nydak. The creature slain by a strike to the head. The Jedi's doing. The items are no doubt his.” 

The Jedi had attempted to climb the mountain then. And in doing so came to blows with the local Nydak Alpha. Killing the monstrosity was impressive to say the least, but it seemed the Jedi had also lost the fight, at least partially. The mutilated left hand was proof of that.

The real prize though was the Jedi weapon she now held. Setting the bundle, still holding the hand, to the side. She held her foe's weapon in her right hand. Grazing her fingers across the metal, it surprised her how clean it was. The Jedi seemed to have respect for his weapon at the very least. 

The sudden urge to destroy the weapon came over her. Many of her sisters had been cut down by such a weapon. Before the impulse could move her to action, another idea came to mind. A trophy, that's what this weapon is. The Jedi had been beaten by Dathomir, and this weapon in her hands was in honor to his loss.

Fashioning the device to herself, her attention fell to the motionless Nightbrother. He hadn’t moved since answering her, and Merrin loathed any time she spent in the company of a Nightbrother, no matter how docile. “You may go.”

With a blink, the Nightbrother was out the door without a word. 

Turning back to her meditation spot, the Nightsister was reminded of her Light and what had happened to it. The satisfaction that had come with the news of what had happened to the jedi had quickly faded. Replaced with the uncertainty at the condition of the Light of Dathomir. 

She hated this feeling. It made her aware that she cared more for her own selfish desires than the revenge for her sisters. This awareness was not something she wanted. She could practically hear her sisters and mother yelling at her for her betrayal because that is exactly what she was doing. Focusing on her own desires over that of the dead coven. Betraying them.

[Break]

Cal’s second flight from the mountain was mostly a blur of pain, regret, and a need/desire to survive. He was crippled, bleeding out, weaponless, and his fall had knocked all the fight out of the young jedi. When he had finally fled far enough to feel some semblance of security, his first task was finding some way to clean his bleeding arm, that was now missing everything above the wrist. Having no medical supplies, and nothing to cut with or disinfect a wound, Cal became desperate. 

Building a harsh fire, Cal shoved his wounded hand into the flames. If it wasn’t for his exhaustion, he surely would have managed more than the dry whimper of pain that escaped him. He blacked out shortly after retracting his hand. 

Waking with the fire just as massive as before, Cal took a view of his scorched appendage. The end a burnt nub that was hopefully safe from infection and more blood loss, but with his luck he was doubtful.

As the days progressed and as his body took it time to heal, his mind slowly left it's haze of survival instincts. His only hand grazed it's fingers across the strip of leather that acted as his belt. Cal had lost his weapon, Master Tapal’s lightsaber. His last material connection to his old life, a happier life, long lost to him. His only true possession, that was entrusted to him by his dying master. A master that he could no longer fully remember, his face blurred in his memories. 

There was a sickening dark humor to the idea of mourning the loss of a tool over the loss of a piece of your own body. But to Cal the lightsaber had slowly become a part of him. His connection to Master Tapal and his training, a reminder that he was still a Jedi. It was his confidence, it's blue light washing him with a calmness and comfort he couldn’t describe.

And now it had been lost, likely forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: Chapter 5-Year 4-Temple
> 
> A while back I read a fanfic where Cal had a robotic prosthetic hand under his welding glove he wears throughout Fallen Order (I think the Fanfic was 'Jedi: Fallen Knight' by aslanbrooke. Its really good, go give it a read). So that gave me the idea to cut off our favorite red headed Jedi Padawan's hand. So now Cal is without his left hand with no prosthetic is sight. You can thank me later. :)


	5. Year 4-Temple

Surviving without his weapon was proving just as hard as Cal had suspected. Hunting big game was out of the question. He had almost entirely adopted a diet of plant roots and fish, as anything else he couldn’t hunt reliably or safely. He was less defending himself from Dathomirian creatures and residence, and more running at the first sign of trouble. His only real defence was his force abilities, which he mostly used to get away rather than defend or fight off any assailants.

But it was also the small things that became difficult. Gathering wood was more scavenging for wood. Dathomirian trees had few branches, and they never shed them. Cal would usually cut them off with his master's lightsaber, but now he was pushed to ripping the smallest branches off, a difficult feat considering the rock hard wood. Starting campfires also became a process that was more than just ‘poke it with the lightsaber until the wood lights up’. Cal knew how to start fires, he had been taught in basic survival training, but it doesn't mean he was any good at it. It would often take him an hour to get a fire large enough to cook the fish and roots. He was slowly becoming better at it, but it was hardly enjoyable. 

Without a left hand, all these problems became amplified. He couldn’t carry as much food, nor dig up plant roots as fast. Running was surprisingly harder without another arm to balance him out, but it was something he quickly adapted to. Climbing on the other hand had gone from a chore to an obstacle. He could still climb most places, but he had to be smarter about his ascents and descents, and it took almost double the time it would have before losing his left hand.

To try and make up for the weaponless problem, Cal had tried to adopt Nightbrother weaponry. Their heavy maces were too large and unwieldy for a teen with only one hand. Needless to say their plasma bows were also off the table, Cal didn’t even make an attempt at them.

What was worse was the condition of what was left of his arm. Cal had only lost the hand at the wrist, but the whole of the arm below the elbow was slowly going black and necrotic. After burning the arm to stop the bleeding and in an attempt to ward off infection, he thought the constant throbbing pain was from the burn, and his body getting used to missing a piece of itself. Maybe at first it was, but it soon became clear that his arm was in much a worse shape than he thought. Infection had set in, and Cal wasn’t sure what he could to halt the damage. He could use his meditations to keep the infection in his lower arm, but that was the extent. 

His meditations had also gotten harder due to his loss of the lightsaber. Ever since the encounter with the beast that took his hand, and lost him his only real reminder of his old life, meditations had become harmful. Cal’s mind was filled with visions of Master Tapal yelling at him for all his weaknesses and failures. Attacking every fault and failure Cal could see within himself. His cowardice, his lack of skill in all Jedi teachings, and even his personal appearance. It was mostly because of this that Cal knew these visions to be nothing more than his mind attacking itself. Cal wouldn’t lie to himself and say these visions didn’t affect him, but knowing they were thoughts from himself and not words from his dead master meant the visions were little more than inconveniences in meditations. 

Meditating was still necessary for his survival. To keep his force abilities, his only real defence now, honed. To keep his infected arm stable, and to keep the dark presence of the planet out of his mind. So Cal tolerated the harmful visions and their attacks on his self worth. It was also the only way he could fall asleep with the constant pain of his dying arm. Cal could ward off the feeling long enough for a night of sleep.

As the Jedi made his way across the swampland, for roots to scavenge, Cal heard the distinct clicking of Dathomirian spiders. Deciding that it would be preferable to avoid them, Cal sprinted in the exact opposite direction of the spider clicking.

Running a considerable distance Cal soon slowed to a halt, finding himself in an unrecognizable part of the swamp. A small clearing that was more or less unremarkable, besides the singular tree that made home atop the hill that covered the majority of the clearing. Making his way to the tree, Cal circled it, something catching his eye. Sticking out of the black bark of the tree at chest height was a short bladed sword. The tree’s bark had started growing around the blade, a sign that the weapon had been there for a considerably long time. Despite this the weapon was undamaged by time, still holding it's metallic shine. The weapon was beautiful, but lacked any flashy qualities. A single edged sword that curved near the point of the weapon. The blade was thin nearer the grip, and thicker near the end for more cutting power. The handle was wrapped in a fine red leather the same color of the tunic of the female Dathomirian that attacked him all those months ago. The blade’s crossguard covered a portion of the cutting edge with an angle designed for blades to glance off rather than get blocked by the guard.

Cal hesitated in grabbing the weapon, it clearly held an echo of the past. However curiosity soon over took caution and Cal took hold of the weapons grip. 

The echo was ancient, far older than any echo he had experienced before. He was thrust into the vision of a female Dathomirian, now known to him as Nightsisters, ‘Guess that makes sense, considering the males are called “Nightbrothers”’. The Nightsister was injured, poisoned. Her vision filled with hallucinations as she slowly succumbed to the deadly toxin. With her last action she threw her blade into the tree, having seen an illusion of an enemy unknown to Cal. The echo ended after the blade embedded itself into the tree, and the Nightsister collapsed. 

Looking to the spot of the Nightsisters resting place, it was clear that no body was there. Something must have dragged her away when she died all those years ago. 

His attention fell back to the blade, grasping it again and taking it from its place in the tree. The blade came free much easier than he had thought it would. The portion of the blade that had been inside the tree was slightly discolored a shade or two darker. It was heavier than a lightsaber, but was still many times lighter than the Nightbrother’s heavy maces. Testing the blade on one of the tree's few branches, the limb was cut like paper against a vibro-blade. The weapon was masterfully sharp. Cal had heard of this before, mono-molecular edge. Able to cut better than a Vibro-blade. Only lightsabers could outmatch a weapon with such a sharpened and reinforced edge in pure cutting ability. 

It was no lightsaber, but this Nightsister blade was a close second. 

[Break]

Adopting his fighting style to a new weapon took more time than Cal had expected. Thinking the weapon would be used in a similar capacity to a lightsaber, he had attempted to use it like one. He was proven wrong within seconds of testing out the weapon on a Dathomirian spider. He still killed it with little issue, but he quickly found many changes he would have to adapt to. First the weapon’s blade was shorter than the average lightsaber. The weapon also had more weight behind it, and relied on its weight more for cutting power. But what threw Cal off most was that the weapon had only one cutting edge, compared to a lightsaber with every edge being deadly. But Cal had always had affinity with lightsaber combat, that was only honed to a sharp edge by his time on Dathomir. It wasn’t long until Cal was as adept at using this new weapon as he had been with a lightsaber. 

This had given the Jedi a much needed confidence boost. Thinking it was about time Cal finally finished his long standing goal, Cal for the third time set his course for the mountain that cast its shadow over the swampland. He would make it to the temple at the peak, and finally know why he had been pointed here by the force. Even now, almost two years since he had first seen the mountain, and probably three years since he was stranded on this strange planet, the force was still directing Cal to the structure. It was his only clear goal outside of survival, and frankly it was the only thing that kept the young Jedi together. He hated to admit it, but he had long given up on rescue. This was all he had, and he needed to hold onto it. 

So here Cal was, venturing up the mountain once again, not as whole as last time, but still alive.

He decided on taking the same difficult path as before, hoping that the creature that took his arm last time had no family or friends. With one less hand it took much longer to ascend the cliffs, but it wasn’t long until Cal found himself at the cliff edge where he had lost his master’s lightsaber, and his left hand.

He only took a couple minutes to rest, and search in vain for the lost weapon. It had been months since he lost the weapon, there was little chance the weapon would ever be found. 

After continuing his journey, Cal further slowed his pace. Beyond the cliff edge was all new territory to him. He couldn’t risk being seen by a Nightbrother patrol. If he was, it was doubtful Cal would escape the attention of the resident Nightsister. If she got involved he would be in more than a little trouble.

[Break]

Merrin had long perfected her daily routine. Having had little changes to daily life over her time on the mountain after finishing the burial of all her sisters. Waking shortly before sunrise, if she even allowed herself to sleep the night before. Nightmares always plaguing every moment of her rest. She would swiftly eat a light meal, usually Veeka meat she hunted herself, she would bathe in the mountain’s hot springs near the peak. The hot springs were maintained through magick, and forbidden to the Nightbrothers. 

Then the Nightsister would meditate until midday, or until interrupted by Nightbrother messages. Usually reports of problems in need of sorting out. No big problems had arisen since Merrin’s declaration to take whomever could slay Gorgara, as a mate. The village had not been pleased, but couldn’t really do anything, nor did they openly complain. The declaration was seen as a challenge, and no Nightbrother would refuse a challenge. Some of the younger Nightbrothers had even attempted to slay the mighty Gorgara, hoping to be the one to bed her. While most had survived their attempts, very few came out unscathed, and none had yet to even harm the beast. So the Nightsister remained unmated, just as she had wished.

The Jedi hadn’t been seen in nearly a year, and the only sign that he was still around was his severed hand, now mummified, and weapon found near the dead body of the local Alpha Nydak that he had no doubt killed. Despite this she kept up the Nightbrother patrols to hunt the Jedi. Half out of a sense of keeping to her revenge, and just to keep the Nightbrothers busy.

Today she had just returned from her times at the springs when the elderly messenger had shown himself. Merrin hadn’t even gotten time for meditation. He brought news of one of her patrols getting attacked by Gorgara. None had died in their escape, but many were injured to the extent of needing Nightsister healing. ‘Seems like meditation must be delayed for another time.’

[Break]

Cal had soon found himself at the peak with little issue, now standing before the massive temple-like structure. The goal that had driven him to climb this mountain no less than three times. The first he had barely gotten a few meters before being turned back by the Nightsister and her hunters. The second he had made it halfway up before losing his master’s lightsaber along with his left hand. 

But you know what they say, “third times the charm.”

Standing before the structure now, Cal couldn’t help but feel a bit intimidated by it. Reaching up to scrape the sky with its forked peak. Statues of some unknown alien race. A menacing presence that overwhelmed the Jedi. 

Cal was honestly scared. Scared of what he would find. Scared of what he wouldn’t find. But mostly scared of the mystery of why he was sent here. What purpose is intended for him inside this ancient place. If it was like anything like the rest of the planet it probably wouldn’t be good. But this was all Cal had, so he took his first few steps into the structure. 

He took little note of the inside of the building, his eyes immediately being drawn to a stone tablet carved into the far wall. He couldn’t take his eyes off of it. Something was telling him this tablet held his answer. The tablet was two to three times Cal’s own height, with writing carved into it in a language Cal didn’t recognize, if it really was a language at all. Also carved into it, and taking center stage was a large circular pattern that vaguely reminded Cal of the galaxy. 

His body acted before his mind could. Reaching out to brush his hand across the cravings. Cal was filled with a sensation that was an uncomfortable mix of sensing an echo and meditating. The echo-like feeling was filled with a screaming emotional pain and anger. It also spoke to Cal of a promise. What was being promised, Cal could only guess and fear. Whatever was being promised, Cal knew he wanted no part in it. 

As he ripped his hand away from the stone, it retaliated with a force vision. He found himself back in time, as his younger self. Aboard the Albedo Brave, heading off to training once again. Passing by clone troopers going about their duties. Most giving the young apprentice words of encouragement, knowing he was heading for the training room. One even asked if he was up for another round in the battle simulator after his training. He even caught a conversation of two clones discussing their station in the Dathomir star system. Mostly questioning the post, and wondering what was so important that the whole of the 13th battalion had been posted here for the last three months. When the two troopers noticed Cal, they lightheartedly reminded him of his training session that he was quickly growing late to. Once he had finally made it to training, Master Tapal gave him the task of making up to the observation deck of the training room. Using his Jedi training, Cal jumped, wall ran, and climbed to his destination. Even at one point having to fend of blaster fire from the commander. But he made it, and Master Tapal started informing him of news of new orders from the Republic. The 13th Battalion would make its way to Bracca to help Jedi Master Malicos in securing the planet. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the commander getting a holomessage, probably details on their orders. His attention was drawn back to his master as the large lasat stumbled from, what seemed to be, a headache. The commander made his way to Cal’s view as the clone raised his weapon to the Jedi master’s head. Cal went to scream a warning to his master, but it proved unneeded as the commander was cut down in a flash of blue. It quickly became clear that something was going on, they had been betrayed. Cal made his way to the escape pods, as Master Tapal made his way to the ship core to compromise the star destroyer. On his way, Cal lost his weapon down a shaft. It wasn’t long until he was at the escape pods, his master not far behind him. Before they could finish prepping a pod, they were set upon by more clone troopers. Master Tapal gave them a fight worthy of his rank of master, but the numbers were too great. It wasn’t long until he was fatally injured and they escaped the explosion of the ship. The lasat’s last words relieved, “This … war is not over, my Padawan. Hold the line. Wait for the Jedi Council's signal. Remember… Trust only… In the Force.”

The words rang through Cal many times before he once again found himself back in his current body, but the vision had not ended at reliving the last day of his old life. 

He found himself in the void of his own mind. A place he was familiar with, as he was often brought here by his meditations. But now it also held the large stone tablet. It gave off a bluish glow, from its place near the end of the void. 

Stepping out of a dark cloud was his dead master, alive within the vision. “Padawan. It is time for instruction.”

Lighting his dual bladed lightsaber, the lasat made for a defensive stance. Cal found he held his own lightsaber, or more accurately his master’s lightsaber that he had lost. 

Lighting his own weapon, Cal swung at his master. Master Tapal blocked the blow effortlessly. “Still incompetent!” his master spat at him. 

Cal kept up his attack, never breaking the Jedi master’s defence. “Your will is weak. You lack discipline.” 

With a disapproving voice the master spoke, “You will always be weak.” before he lowered and disarmed his weapon. Cal, with a childish yell, trusts his blade into his opponent. 

“Yes. My blood is on your hands, apprentice.” The lasat violently grabbed the offending weapon. “You are a failure. A weakling.” Cal tried to pry the weapon from the grip, but was too weak, and did little. “A traitor.” The lightsaber began to fade away as the lasat spoke further. “You are no Jedi!” 

“No!” With a desperate scream, the vision ended. Cal soon found himself kneeling, turned away from the tablet. Looking down at his hand. Empty, his fist balled with his nails cutting into his skin, knuckles white from his tight grip. 

[Break]

It had taken Merrin longer to treat the injured Nightbrother hunters that had been attacked by Gorgara. Their wounds had been severe. One of the Nightbrothers had even succumbed to his injuries before the Nightsister had arrived. The other three that survived had all been crippled, losing five limbs between the three of them.

A crippled Nightbrother, no matter how minor the damage, is seen as less than a person, an animal. The humor was not lost on Merrin, as she already viewed the Nightbrothers as animals. Usually such members of the village would be forced into the most unsavory of tasks. Empting the lavatories, tanning animal hide, or taking care of the young Nightbrothers. When a Nightsister gave birth to a male, the child would be taken to the Nightbrother village to be raised, effectively abandoned by the mother. Nightsisters had little need to be raising Nightbrothers, and Nightbrothers viewed child rearing as weak, and only the lowest members of the community would be tasked with child care. Of course no child Nightbrothers would be raised anytime, if ever again if Merrin had any say in it. In fact she happened to be the only one who had any say in it.

As she made her way back to her home near the peak she decided to make a detour. She would go visit Ilyana at her cliff. She would usually do so after her meditation, but seeing as she had missed her meditation today it only seemed appropriate to visit the cliff.

Her path to the cliff took the Nightsister by the ancient temple at the mountain's peak. The structure predated the Nightsisters by a considerable degree, built by an alien race. Merrin only had a vague idea of what the ancient architects looked like, due to the stone statues that filled the inside of the temple. The temple was partially the reason the mountain was used as a burial site for the Nightsisters. The temple gave off strong magick forces that one could only normally find deep within the planet’s crust. Merrin was unsure if the temple was built here because of the strong magick, or if there was strong magick because of the temple. But it mattered little to the Nightsister. 

She had only ventured into the dark place a few times. Usually out of a mix of curiosity and boredom. It never occupied more than a few hours of her time, and she never found anything of particular interest besides a few statues that looked like people who had been turned to stone, screaming with horror. Or at least Merrin thinks it was horror, it was hard to tell with the statues of an alien race she had never seen before. 

The structure had always intimidated her, like it watched her every move as she traversed it's insides, so after her third bout of curiosity, she had ceased her ventures inside. 

As she passed the structure a defiant and desperate scream rang out of the doorway into the temple. The voice was too far away for Merrin to discern the word that had been vocalized. Hesitating for only a moment, Merrin ran to the temple entrance, peering inside. Less than a hundred feet from her neeled the Jedi. Looking down at his hand, paralyzed by some distant horror within his mind. His skin was ghostly pale, the blood drained from the skin’s surface. As she ran her eyes across the kneeling enemy that had yet to notice her presence, she took note of many details she had ignored from their last encounter over a year ago. He had hair. Nightbrothers couldn’t grow hair leading Merrin to associate hair with women, but this Jedi was clearly male considering his bare chest was clearly closer in resemblance to the Nightbrothers. Furthermore his hair was a rich orange red, unlike the deeper reds found all across the planet. Nightsisters hair was only ever black, gray, or white, nothing ever coming close to this males hair. His left arm looked dead from the elbow down, hanging uselessly at his side. He wore treated leather pants that were clearly of Nightbrother make. On his belt hung a Nightsister’s duskblade. A rare weapon coveted by martial Nightsisters, and used to aid in many rituals. Seeing the weapon in his possession brought fury to the forefront of Merrin’s mind, overtaking her curiosity for a moment. How had he come to possess it? No doubt stealing the weapon from its resting place, like the thief all Jedi are. He most likely took it to replace his old weapon. A weapon that now hangs from the Nightsister’s belt, as a trophy. 

Her anger drove her to take a step into the temple. She must have made a sound, as the red headed Jedi’s gaze shot up in panic and fear, tears streaming down his cheeks. His eyes were green, another oddity. Nightbrother eyes were almost exclusively a dull yellow. Nightsisters had a little more variety in eye color. Merrin herself had brown eyes, but shades of yellow, gray, red, and even the rare blue could be found. Green was not a rare color on Dathomir, but it was mostly associated with Bane Back Spider acid, the algae that grew in the lower swampland, disease ridden Nydaks and Burra Fish. Most examples are off putting, and even her own Magick took on a sickly green tinge that the Nightsister had never been fond of. But the green eyes that stare back at her now are anything but off putting. Even with his eyes filled with fear and despair, Merrin would still describe his green as inviting, warm, comfortable. It made her movements falter under his fearful gaze.

Even his fear was different than that of a Nightbrother. Merrin had seen many looks of fear throughout her life, mostly from wild beasts and the Nightbrothers. Beasts fear was purely primal, only fearing death and pain on instinct, having no way of contemplating the actual idea of death or consequences of that fate. Nightbrother fear was emotionless in a sense, trained from birth to fear Nightsisters. They only cower before Merrin because it is all they know. The young man's terror had nothing primal about it. He wasn’t afraid of death at this moment. No, what ever had horrored him was something deeper than basic self preservation. It had raw emotion that a Nightbrother wound/could never understand. Merrin had seen this only once before when Ilyana had hid her away during that fateful night a lifetime ago. ‘What had filled this warrior with so much dread?’

It took a few seconds of staring at the Nightsister for his vision to focus. As soon as he took in the situation he found himself, the Jedi’s look of fear was replaced with that of confusion. “Hello… What are you doing here?” His words almost comically casual, laced with confusion.

The words shook the Nightsister out of her stupor. “What are you doing here!?” She threw his question back at him with bite.

She didn’t give the kneeling man anytime to respond. “Why do you possess a Nightsister’s Duskblade!? You stole it! Taken it from its resting place!”

She raised her hands, Green ichor swarling into her palms. Harling them at the Jedi, who leaped out of the way. “N-no, I-I don’t want to fight you!”

“You lie!”

Another volley of burning ichor was thrown at the nimble Jedi. “Please!”

When it was clear the Nightsister would only respond with more attacks, Cal raised his hands. Taking the force he froze the Nightsister in stasis. 

Merrin was confused and angered. In the middle of throwing more green projectiles at her enemy he had raised his hand and the world around the Nightsister seemed to speed up. Or more accurately she slowed. The jedi had used his Jedi magicks to paralyze her movements to a near standstill. He charged at her. Merrin’s anger was soon overtaken by panic. In her slowed state she couldn’t escape, nor defend herself from his inevitable attack. She did the only thing she could do, she closed her eyes. She wouldn’t let her fear show on her face, she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing her despair. Her last moments would show this Jedi the bravery of the Nightsisters his people had ended. The only give away of her state of mind was a single tear that escaped to slide down her cheek. 

As she prepared herself to be cut down images rushed the young Nightsister’s mind. Images of her life before, of her sisters, her mother, Ilyana. She would soon join them in death, but not in the after life. There wouldn’t be anyone to perform her burial rights. She would be alone in death, as she was in life. 

Then she felt a charging mass rush by her, less than a hair away. For a few moments the Nightsister believed the deed had been done. That death had come to her like the winds of the mountain. Then she felt her frantic heartbeat, and the pain in her lungs as she held in what she thought was her last breath. Opening her eyes it took seconds to realize what had happened. The Jedi had run past her, sparing her. The torrent of emotions coupled with her near death experience drove the Nightsister to collapse to her knees in exhaustion.

She became light headed from the mass of sensations that attacked her mind. Fear for having almost died. Confusion for why she had not been killed by her enemy. Relief for a chance to live another day. But soon two feelings eclipsed all others as she brought her mind back together. Hatred and anger. Hatred for the enemy that had shamed her for sparing her. Anger for being spared the blade when her sisters hadn’t been years ago. But most of all anger for herself. She had been too weak to enact her sister's revenge when she had been given her best chance of doing so. The spirits had delivered her quarry to her after hunting him for over a year and she failed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: Chapter 6-Year 5, Part 1-Gorgara
> 
> This chapter was a bit smaller than the past few, but next weeks chapter will make up for it, I assure you. 
> 
> Also the idea behind the Duskblade came from the Fantasy Flight Star Wars Tabletop RPG. In one of the expansion books it adds the Dathomirian race, a few Dathomirian weapons, and the Nightsister as a playable force using class. One of the weapons added was the Duskblade, used by Nightsisters. The mono-molecular edge is a weapon mod that can be added to bladed weapons in the game to increase the chance and damage of critical hits or wounds. Just wanted you too know the origians of a Duskblade and that I did not make it up randomly. Also I love Fantasy Flight Star Wars. I always had the idea to write a story on my RPG groups campaign. 
> 
> Next chapter will be up next Saturday. It will be my favorite chapter yet.


	6. Year 5 Part 1-Gorgara

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I said the next chapter would be out this Saturday, but a reader asked if I would release an extra Chapter this week because of the Holidays. I liked the idea, and I know with it being 2020 and all that this Holiday season, for many people and for many reasons, will not be the best. So I decided to release this Chapter on Christmas Eve, and Chapter 7 will be released this Saturday. Happy Holidays!

Ever since the incident at the Temple there had been an increased number of Nightbrother patrols across the mountain. When Cal had first traveled up to the peak it was rather easy to make his way up undetected by any patrols. It seemed that before the incident it was believed by the Nightbrothers that Cal stayed in the swamplands below. After the Nightsister discovered him at the temple this belief must have changed, and the patrols soon started covering the mountains as well as the swampland. What was worse was the almost consistent Nightbrother presence around the base of the mountain making it particularly risky to leave the mountain for the swampland. Meaning Cal was more or less stuck living on the mountain for the time being, until the consistent watch of the mountain base ends. 

The only small improvement to Cal’s situation was that he no longer needed to go out of his way to hide his fire’s smoke. The Nightbrothers have many camps up and down the mountain that are constantly moving. Each camp has at least one fire for cooking. What's one more fire smoke stack among dozens? 

Running and hiding from his hunters has caused Cal to grow increasingly knowledgeable about the mountain. He has all but discovered everything near the base and middle. The Jedi even discovered the Nightbrother village. He keeps his distance from the peak. The visions from the temple still haunted him, and he was fully aware the Nightsister lived near the peak. He wanted to avoid her as much as possible. If the Nightbrother patrols were dangerous, she was deadly. In his last encounter he had been more lucky than anything. How he was able to harness the force to such a degree in his troubled state was beyond him, and it had scared him.

There had been a few close calls in his time on the mountain. Both with the Nightbrother presence as well as the wildlife. Those long limbed creatures seemed to live in a considerable number here, and Dathomirian spiders were everywhere. Some Nightbrother even seemed to use the spiders as pets, guard animals, and hunting companions. 

Cal had even found the nest/cave of that giant bat-like creature. He had found a lone Nightbrother warrior traveling the mountain. This had piqued the Jedi’s interest as Nightbrothers rarely hunted alone. Infact Cal can’t recall ever seeing a lone Nightbrother that wasn’t already dead. So, looking for something to occupy himself, Cal followed the Nightbrother. The warrior was rather young compared to many of his kind, seeming to be about the same age as Cal, maybe a little older. He had followed the unsuspecting Nightbrother into a massive cave only to find that the cave had been the home of the giant bat creature Cal had seen a while back. The young Nightbrother seemed to want to challenge the creature. Why? Cal had no clue, from what he could see the challenge was a death sentence for the hunter. The ‘fight’ if you could really call it that was little more than hopeless. It wasn’t long until the Nightbrother was impaled on the claw of the creature's right wing. The bat hadn’t even taken a blow from the now dead Nightbrother. 

Having no wish to see the creature enjoy it's lunch delivery, or risk becoming a meal himself, Cal swiftly left before the creature could spot him.

[Break]

When Cal had lost his master's weapon and had taken more time between meditations, the dark force of the planet had slowly begun to creep closer. Never too close as Cal had still kept up the practice of centering himself with meditation, even if it became more and more infrequent. But the presence had still been there, leaving the young Jedi feeling boxed in. His only true escape had been sleep and dreams. Cal had always been a frequent dreamer. Almost every time he fell asleep he would dream. He would often dream of better times. When he had found his kyber crystal as a youngling at the jedi temple on Ilum. When he had been chosen as the apprentice of Jedi Master Jaro Tapal. Even during his exhausting training aboard the Albedo Brave. Training that Cal had disliked at the time, but looking back now Cal only saw them as happy times.

Sleep no longer helped. It was no longer an escape back to better times. After his visions at the temple Cal no longer experienced dreams, only nightmares. All the nightmares were the same, the visions he had lived through at the temple along with the words of the vision version of his dead master. Every night it replayed in his sleep. It was a mercy when the nightmares forced him to wake early, but more often than not the nightmares plagued his mind until the red light of Dathomir’s sun forced him awake.

[Break]

Nightmares have haunted Merrin for years. In truth she can’t really remember what true sleep felt like. Waking up feeling rested and ready for the day ahead was a joke to her. She had little hope that she would ever be free from these Nightmares. She was content with it, grown used to it really. 

She had eventually found an escape that eased her mind and body. Meditation. And when she had found the Light of Dathomir in her meditations it had led to better rest from the practice. She would use her meditative state to watch her Light as it moved across Dathomir. Always hoping it would make its way to her, but never desperate enough to seek it out on her own. 

But things have changed.

After the Jedi had been found in the temple her Light hadn’t been the same. It had made its way to her mountain, and had begun to traverse the lower and middle portions. It never made its way to the peak, never to her. Merrin would have been content with this. She had been patient for years, she would wait until old age took her if she must. She got all the joy, solace, and comfort she needed by watching her Light through meditation. But the Jedi must have done something. The Light, her Light, the Light that reminded the Nightsister so much of Ilyana was fading into the darkness that was planet Dathomir. 

It had started gradually after her last run in with the Jedi. Its Light started losing it's clearness and started turning ever so slowly gray. Even if it was gray it was still distinguishable from the darkness of every other creature on Dathomir. But it was just wishful thinking that it would finish fading to gray. Merrin knew it would fade into the darkness, lost forever to her. 

Watching this fading away pained, hurt the Night sister to her very being. But she wouldn’t stop her meditations, no matter how deeply they stung her. Every meditation she feared that this would be the last meditation she would sense it before it faded into the dark sea. So she continued watching. But she had grown too tired and too desperate to just wait for the loss of another light.

She could not, would not survive such a loss. It would destroy her. The Light had been the only thing keeping the broken Nightsister from falling apart. Perhaps if the Light had never appeared Merrin would have been fine, never growing a need for it. But there was little to gain by thinking about that now. 

Merrin made the decision to finally go after the producer of this Light of Dathomir. She would hunt it down, take it, and protect it with all that she has. It would finally be hers to protect it from the darkness that was this planet. It would not be stolen from her like Ilyana was. 

So Merrin set out to find the Light that traveled the same mountain as her. It was slow going as her Light was fast, and she could only sense it when in a deep meditative state. But the Nightsister had her magicks to help her traverse the mountain, and she was more knowledgeable of the mountain's terrain than even the longest of lived Nightbrothers. Slow progress, but progress was being made.

Finally she was almost on top of the producer of Light. Any moment and she would find it, see it. Moments away from sighting what had been Merrins obsession for the last two years of her life. Her rock, her beacon, her distraction. 

Then things changed once again. 

A paralyzing screech rang out from above. A large shadow blocked out the red sun of Dathomir. It was a screech Merrin knew well. It was a shadow Merrin knew well. The true queen of the mountain was descending upon the lone Nightsister. The cruelty of Dathomir had once again been brought to bear. 

[Break]

Cal was being followed. He could sense it. Someone or something was tracking him down. When the young Jedi had first felt this, it wasn’t much of a concern. He had escaped many hunters before, be they wildlife or Nightbrother they would be easy enough to lose before he was found.

But that's not what happened.

Whatever or whomever was his pursuer couldn’t be thrown off his trail. Cal would conceal his tracks to near non existence. He would traverse terrain that only a force enhanced being could. And each time his pursuer would continue on his trail. Never slowed, never thrown off. Able to keep up with his super human travel speed, and using his attempts to hide his tracks to creep ever closer. The distance between himself and his hunter only shrunk. It wouldn’t be long until they would be on top of Cal. 

Cal had tried avoiding combat as much as possible sense his run in with the Nightsister. He couldn’t afford to get heavily injured when surrounded by enemies. He ran or hid from all Nightbrother patrols he encountered. Doing the same when faced with hostile wildlife, outside of hunting for his next meal.

That wasn’t going to be an option this time around. His pursuer wouldn’t give up the chase, nor would he be able to hide from them. Cal would be forced into combat once again. 

‘Good’

So he slowed his pace. Not by a suspicious amount, he didn’t want to tip off his hunter. As he traveled onwards he searched for the ideal spot to ambush the skilled tracker. It wasn’t long until he found it. A flat, open clearing next to a cliffside Cal could conceal himself atop. He would wait for the hunter to follow his trail past the cliff wall, then jump down, striking down his enemy before they would have a chance to fight back. 

‘Yes, kill them’

Looking down at the clearing below, it wouldn’t be long until his hunter revealed themselves. And there they were. The resident Nightsister. She seemingly glided across the clearing, her eyes searching with a silent determination. She fails to search above her as her eyes scanned the clearing. ‘It's funny how often people neglect to look skywards.’ Her mistake. 

‘Her last mistake’

How had she been able to track and follow him so well? Cal had an idea. That green power that tapped into the force, the sister used. If that was true then Cal would never be safe on this mountain as long as he shared it with her. No hide away would keep him safe as long as that Nightsister existed. She must be dealt with if Cal was to survive. 

‘It must be done, for survival’

Why she had chosen to hunt him without Nightbrothers in tow he couldn’t imagine. Cal wouldn’t complain about the lack of foes. 

Any moment now she would walk past the cliff wall and Cal would pounce down. Killing the woman before she had a chance to fight back. Why he hadn’t killed her back at the temple was beyond him. It was a lapse of judgment that Cal would rectify. 

‘Strike down your foe. Do it’

But mere moments before the deed was to be put into motion a massive screech shuck the mountain, and the sky grew dark. 

Descending upon the lone Nightsister was the massive monster that was the bat-like creature. It's landing caused the very ground to shutter. The Nightsister lost her footing, falling against the cliff wall. She had no chance at escape, the bat was going to kill her. 

‘Perfect’

Great, perfect really. The Nightsister would be killed by this beast and Cal wouldn’t have to raise a finger. The bloody work would be done for him. All he had to do was go and leave the creature to its meal. All the danger this Nightsister posed would disappear. Cal would once again be safe. A survivor.

‘Leave her to her fate. It is the will of the Force’

Despite this Cal couldn’t bring himself to leave, nor tear his eyes away from the scene. Voices shouting from within his mind. How long had those voices been there? How long had their words been influencing his actions. They kept whispering words, demands in his ears. Most spoke of leaving the woman to her fate, But Cal didn’t recognize those voices. They were the whispers of the mountain, of the temple, of the darkside of this vermilion planet. But there was one smaller voice that struggled to fight for it's right to be heard. And though small it was, Cal recognized this voice. It was that of his deceased master, Jaro Tapal. Master Tapal’s voice yelled at the Padawan. ‘Save her’, ‘Protect a life’, ‘Fight this beast’, ‘This is what you trained for’, ‘Be a Jedi’. At that moment his masters voice grew in volume, snuffing out the darkness within Cal. Master Tapal’s demands were all that mattered to the young Jedi at that moment. 

He looked down at the Nightsister. She had closed her eyes, seemingly accepting her fate. Stoic, only a single tear betraying her true state of mind. It was a look of hers he had seen before, back at the temple months ago. When Cal could have easily killed her but didn't. He knew now why he had spared her that fate. Master Tapal’s voice had been present than as well, though he had not realized. He had driven Cal to flee rather than take a life. 

So here Cal was about to throw his life away to save someone who had tried to kill him twice before, and had been hunting him just moments before. Not because he forgave her. Not because he was better than her. But because he was a Jedi. He was a peacekeeper of the galaxy, and though he had forgotten that purpose for a time, he was not about to forget it now, when it mattered most, when a life was in danger.

Taking a split moment to steel himself, Cal leaped from the cliff. Into the fray the Jedi went; a tale as old as the order itself.

[Break]

Merrin’s head was spinning from falling against the cliff wall, her head had been the first to make contact with the stone. Looking up from her sitting position, the force of nature that was, Gorgara loomed over the dazed Nightsister. It seemed to want to take it's time with her. Why shouldn’t it? Merrin had no means to escape, her magick wouldn’t come to her with her current dazed state, and no one would save the last daughter of Dathomir.

Merrin was going to die by the hands of the real queen of this mountain. The Nightsister may be the ruler of Dathomir, but Gorgara had little use for such cares.

After what felt like hours Gorgara finally made a move, slowly raising it's right wing. The beast's intentions clear, to impale the Nightsister on the wings' singular claw. 

Just like when she had believed she was going to die by the Jedi’s hands back at the temple months ago, Merrin closed her eyes a stoic expression forced onto her face. Images of her life before flooded her mind once again. Images of her sisters, mother, Ilyana. Memories of training her magick. But new memories joined the old. Memories of the Light of Dathomir during her meditations. She had been so close to her goal, so close to her Light. Dathomir, her home, is a cruel mistress. Merrin had always known this. The planet gives us magick but takes from us with cruel intentions for our failures. 

What was Merrin’s failure? She had failed her sisters. Failed to protect them, failed to die with them, and failed to avenge them. The Light she followed in meditation had never been real, just another cruel trick by the planet. A cruelty she deserved. The Light had led her to her death. Had that been the true purpose of the Light all along? To lead the broken Nightsister to an early end while ripping her one joy away from her.

A primal yell, too sentiant to be Gorgara, pulled Merrin’s mind out of her dispar. The primal yell was soon drowned out by a screech of pain from Gorgara. Opening her eyes, what she saw made no sense to the young Nightsister. 

The Jedi, where he had come from Merrin didn’t know, had descended from above and stabbed his duskblade into Gorgara’s right wing. As he fell to the ground he pulled the weapon down with him, cutting the wing membrane down the middle rendering the wing useless for flight. 

Landing on his feet as the injured beast reared back in pain, the Jedi began yelling, screaming, and waving his arm. He ran away from Merrin’s position, clearly attempting to draw the monster’s attention away from her.

What was he doing here? Why was he putting himself in parel to save her? Him, a Jedi, saving her, a Nightsister. The questions were too much for her dazed mind to comprehend, let alone attempt to answer.

Gorgara had swiftly recovered from the shock and pain from having her wing rendered mostly useless. Eyeing the shouting Jedi with a wild fury, the beast charged with a swift gallop that looked awkward when being performed by a winged creature. Awkward it may look, it was still effective. The full weight of the creature attempted to slam into the Jedi, ramming him into the stone behind him. The Jedi retaliated by using the beast's own momentum against it. Right before the charge had connected the warrior raised his weapon. The duskblade was driven deep into Gorgara’s skull. The charge was halted before it could crush the Jedi.

Gorgara recoiled, swinging her head in an animalistic attempt to sooth the new pain. The Jedi was thrown, losing hold of his blade that was still embedded into the beast's skull.

Tossed through the air, the Jedi landed haphazardly in front of the Nightsister, barely staying on his feet. 

Without his weapon, and Gorgara clearly making for another charge, the Jedi warrior was pressed for options. 

Making a split second decision Merrin called out to the Jedi. “Jedi! Your weapon!”

He turned to her in confusion. Merrin grabbed from her belt the Jedi weaponry and threw it to him. Catching it with a practised hand, he chose to hook it onto his belt rather than light it. He instead raised his hand in a deliberate manner. Merrin recognized this as the same Jedi magick he had used on her back at the temple. The air around Gorgara shuttered as the beast froze mid charge. 

Turning back to her, the Jedi spoke with urgency. “Can you run?” She answered with a wordless nod of her head. He reached out with his hand, pulling the Nightsister from her seat against the wall. He pulled her away from the path of the slowed charge. A second after making it clear his Jedi magick released, freeing the beast to continue its charge straight into a cliff wall.

The Jedi released Merrin’s hand, motioning for her to continue running. Unclipping his weapon from his belt, the blade of plasma came to life in an instant. Casting an intense blue glow over the warrior's face. He intended to meet the next charge head on, to stop Gorgara’s charge before it could take them both.

Merrin ran to the edge of the clearing hiding between a Gravethorn and a stone wall. She watched as the Jedi raised his blackened crippled arm. Pushing it against the air in front of it, as if he were pushing a great mass. The rampaging beast was staggered momentarily as if it had been hit by an invisible mass. More Jedi magick.

Taking the opportunity, the Jedi charged the beast, hoping to avoid another stampede. He attacked the beast with his blade of blue plasma. Dodging swings from the massive clawed wings, and returning with shallow cuts and burns. To Merrin the performance looked to be akin to a dance rather than a true fighting style. But the dance faltered and the Jedi was knocked to the side with a blunt strike from a wing. His body landed with a dull thud. He made no move to get back up.

Gorgara turned from the Jedi’s unmoving body, his attention falling onto Merrin. Approaching the Nightsister the beast destroyed the Gravethorn she was hiding behind. Once again Merrin was pinned between a wall and the queen of the mountain. At least she would die on her feet.

Gorgara raised her left wing ready to strike. It's claw was brought down to impale Merrin. Something shoved her out of the path of the deadly weapon’s path. Looking up she had once again been saved by the Jedi. He had pushed her to the ground, but in doing so had taken the blow instead. His blood splattered across her face in a fine hot mist.

[Break]

Cal saw the blood as soon as he felt it. Unsurprisingly there was little pain, just like when he had lost his hand. His senses focused on the sensation of scorching blood flowing down his torso, dripping down to the ground below. Once again his blood seeps into the red dirt of Dathomir. He looked down at his new wound and grew light headed. He had avoided being impaled by the primal weapon, but hadn’t avoided getting grazed. A large clean slash ran from his right shoulder stopping short of his left hip. Blood flowed like a wave from the tear. 

The bat creature that had done this to him was reading another attack with it's injured wing. Another downward stroke was imminent. Cal went to move his arm to ready a perry and winced. His shoulder was definitely dislocated. Whether it was due to being hit by the beast or knocking the Nightsister out of the way didn’t matter. He wasn’t going to be able to perform the maneuver required to counter the oncoming claw. 

In a last ditch effort the Jedi threw the lightsaber at the beast, using the movement of his body rather than the movement of his arm to power the thrown weapon’s momentum. The sapphire blade haphazardly flew at it's target. The wings claw was sundered from it's post. Cal didn’t even attempt to pull the blade back to his hand. The weapon continued its trajectory, clattering on the ground behind the howling beast, deactivated. 

It wouldn’t be long until the creature recovered from another injury, and then he and the Nightsister would be ended, becoming the creature's meal or, worse yet, toys. 

It wouldn’t be long until Cal blacked out from blood loss, he knew this. He needed to end this fight now. A glint caught the Jedi’s attention, ‘The duskblade is still embedded in the bat’s head.’ There was an idea. Mustering up the last of his strength Cal took hold of the weapon with the force. He slammed all the power he could muster into the blade, like a hammer to a nail. The blade was driven further into the monster's skull by an invisible mass. 

‘Should have done that from the beginning.’

As Cal’s senses left him he wasn’t able to perceive the sudden silence of the creature, nor the sight of the creature collapsing, or feel the quake of the ground as its body hit the earth. Nor did he feel the warm hands that caught his head before it hit the ground.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: Year 5 Part 2-Scars
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this Chapter. It was my favorite chapter I have released yet. Tell my, was it the fight you had expected?


	7. Year 5 Part 2-Scars

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the promised second chapter this week!

The Jedi’s chest wound was bleeding profusely, making it difficult to tell how deep or how large the wound was. It was clearly deep enough to have gone through a few ribs, but whether it had made it past his muscle and tissue was less clear. It would be concerning if any of his organs had been damaged. His lungs were in the clear as both sides of his chest rouse, though only slightly. His hearts were clearly fine, as his blood was obviously flowing. 

It was clear to the Nightsister that he would not last long.

Merrin could perform simple first aid, but would need her talisman and tools to be able to have a chance at saving him. At best she could buy herself more time. Raising her arms and whispering to her sisters and mother, Merrin covered the Jedi’s laceration with a cloud of green ichor, stopping the loss of blood, if only temporarily. ‘This will do for now.’

Without her talisman it would take her time to gather the magic needed to transport herself and her patient back home. 

Merrin paused, a question making it to the forefront of her conscious, ‘Why am I saving him?’ He is a Jedi, her enemy, and clearly a very powerful one considering he had defeated Gorgara. Gorgara, the impossible challenge. Gorgara, quite possibly the deadliest creature on Dathomir. Gorgara the queen of this ancient mountain that had almost killed her. ‘That is why I am saving him.’ He had saved her, defended her, protected her and in doing so saved the last of the Nightsisters. Only an excuse to herself, Merrin knew, but she cared little. She was pressed for time and had little time to waist on internal struggles. Action now, think later.

She could already hear the distinct clicking sound of Bane Back Spiders. It wouldn’t be long until those arachnid scavengers would be swarming the area to feast upon the dead royal Chirodactyl. 

Thinking quickly, Merrin retrieved the Duskblade embedded in the skull of Gorgara. The blade coming free of the cavity it made rather easily. Next she retrieved the Jedi weapon. Going back to the unconscious body of the Jedi, she placed her hand upon his shoulder. Using the Duskblade as a pseudo-talisman she teleported herself and the Jedi away.

[Break]

Luckily for the Jedi, the damage taken in the battle with Gorgara was not nearly as bad as it looked. Several of his ribs had been shattered, and needed to be fused back together. His abe muscles had also been shredded through, but that had been the deepest it had gotten. The ribs had protected his upper organs, and the muscle had done the same for his intestines. Not including the ribs the Jedi had over a dozen bones cracked, broken, or shattered from being thrown around by the oversized bat. Needless to say those needed to be fused back together as well. A dozen bruises and minor lacerations had to be healed and/or stitched together. Some of the bruises had clearly predated the fight with Gorgara as many had been yellow, rather than the black or purple of a fresh bruise. The real danger had been in the loss of blood, but Merrin had closed him up in time. Despite the magick she had used to save him, it would still be a long process for the Jedi to be back to working condition. But for now he was out of danger. She had also healed the damage from his infected arm, the one with the missing hand. The infection had made its way up to the elbow, and had to be cut off if the rest of the arm along with his life was to be saved. After removing the infected portion of the arm, Merrin used her magick to stitch the arms end into a nub to prevent any chance of infection.

One interesting thing she had discovered when healing him was that he lacked a second heart. Dathomirians being a subspecies of Zabrak, they naturally had two hearts. Or at least the males did, after all Nightbrothers always took more from the Zabrak ancestry. Female Dathomirians, Nightsisters, took more from the human ancestry of Dathomirians. It's why Nightsisters had no horns and only one heart. Nightbrothers had an abundance of horns and two hearts. 

Because the Jedi had only one heart and still looked similar in body structure to a Dathomirian, Merrin guessed he was a human. Merrin had never seen a human before. She had only heard of them. The exiled human Jedi, Alley had trained other human females in the ways of magick and bred with Zabrak males to create the modern Dathomirian species. Despite this human and Zabrak ancestry, Merrin had little knowledge of what humans or normal Zabraks look like. 

Taking a closer look at the human Jedi before her, it was clear he was very much different than a male Dathomrian. First thing she noticed was his apparent age. He was much younger than she had expected. She never really got a good look at him in all their previous encounters. He looked to be only a year or two younger than herself. So young yet such a powerful and skilled warrior and Jedi magick user. She had noticed his orange hair and pale skin back at the temple, but they still fascinated her. Moving her hand through his hair, Merrin felt no horns. Having no horns, and having hair made him more like a Nightsister than a Nightbrother, but it was very clear that the Jedi was indeed a male. His hair color reminded the Nightsister of a sunset. His skin was also closer to that of a Nightsister than a Nightbrother. Nightbrothers had red, orange, green, or pink skin. Nightsisters had pale white skin. His skin though not as white or as pale as hers was still nothing like the colors found on Nightbrothers. His skin was covered in countless scars, large and small. Acidic burns (most likely from Bane Back Spiders), laceration scars, and even a few burn scars. One large burn scar on his back Merrin knew well. She had given it to him on their first encounter. The sight of the burn only brought turmoil to her mind, she chose to ignore it. Most of his scars covered his limbs, but a few covered his chest, neck, and head. Soon he will have many more from his fight with Gorgara, none more prominent than the giant gash across his chest. 

The scar that the gash would grow into as it healed would be his trophy for slaying Gorgara. Merrin had never understood the Nightbrothers fascination with scars and other battle scars. Nightbrother culture viewed scars as trophies and examples of surviving what Dathomir would throw at them. Merrin and Nightsister culture viewed scars as examples of failure, mistakes that have been written permanently into one's skin. You don't gain scars from survival, but through lacking in the skill to prevail over a threat. But looking over the Jedi’s many scars the Nightsister saw them as something else. The Jedi’s scars show growth, how he gained his skills as a warrior, but she also saw the pain of living and surviving alone on a hostile planet. A part of Merrin hates that she had been a large part of that hostility, both directly with the burn scar on his back, as well as indirectly by the several scars that were no doubt given to him by the Nightbrothers she sent after him. 

Merrin needed to stop dwelling on thoughts of the Jedi, and focus on other tasks. It would be awhile before the Jedi would awaken. Merrin needed to rest. She had exhausted herself healing the Jedi, as well as hunting down the Light…

She had forgotten about her hunt for the Light of Dathomir! The Nightsister had been too wrapped up in her near death experience as well as mending the Jedi that she had forgotten why she had been running all over the mountain in the first place. She had been interrupted in her search when she had been moments from her goal. Mere moments from finding the source of the light, and she had been attacked by one of the two things on this mountain that could kill her, and then been saved by the other.

A paranoid fear ran up the Nightsister’s spin, bringing dread to the forefront of her exhausted and overworked mind. What if this delay proved detrimental? What if her Light had finally succumbed to the planet's influence and faded into the darkness? Last she remembered the Light of Dathomir had been dangerously close to disappearing forever. It was the whole reason that she had set out to find it in the first place, to find the source and protect it, safe guard it from the darkness of this bleak planet.

She needed to check immediately, and set out once again on her search for the light before it was too late. Rest was no longer a priority. ‘What was that old foreigner saying Ilyana once spoke? “I’ll rest when I am dead.”’ She prayed to her sisters and mother that she wasn’t too late! 

Leaving the room occupied by her patient, she quickly kneeled down to enter a meditative state. Finding it hard to center herself, with all the turmoil and fear in her mind, she desperately reached out with her magick to seek out the Light.

And what she saw made her pause.

The Light, her Light had recovered, not completely, but enough to become like a beacon across the planet. Found easily by the practiced Nightsister’s magick senses. But it's recovery isn’t what caused the Nightsister to mentily pause. The reason had been the location of the Light on the mountain. The Light was behind her, back in the room with the Jedi. Exiting meditation and leaping up, Merrin ran back to the Jedi’s room. Looking around the small room, the Jedi was all alone just like she had left him moments ago. ‘No… this can not be right.’

Kneeling down at the doorway of the room, Merrin hesitantly reentered meditation. She must be going mad, another trick of the planet maybe. Reaching out with her magick senses she searched out the Light of Dathomir once again. She hadn’t been driven mad by the planet, and it was no mistake or trick of the senses. The Jedi, her enemy, her savior was the source of the Light. Had been the source all along. The emotional disorder this revelation caused forced the Nightsister out of Meditation. Exiting meditation, Merrin found water streaming down from her eyes. ‘Why am I crying?’ 

Slowly standing, she approached the unconscious Jedi as if were a deadly predator that at any moment could awaken and attack. Impossible given his current state.

It made more sense than Merrin realized. When the Jedi had first been spotted in the swampland, it had been shortly after the Light had entered the swampland as well. After her first interaction with the Jedi where he had been injured by her, the Light had been moving erratically around the swampland at the base of the mountain, running and hiding from the patrols of Nightbrother hunters she realized. The Light had started fading after the Jedi had been encountered at the Temple. Merrin had at first blamed the Light’s fading on the Jedi as well as the planet's influence, but no it was undeniable that Merrin had, in part, been responsible for the Lights fading.

Placing her hand on the Jedi’s uninjured shoulder, Merrins conscious was flooded with a torrent of emotions. First confusion, then anger and hate, sadness and loss, then fear, and lastly regret and care. It all made no sense, and at the same time made more sense than she cared for. ‘What am I to do?’ She had sworn to kill the Jedi, but had also promised herself to protect this Light.

As her mind and emotions raced and combated for dominance, Merrin found herself both physically, mentualy, and emotionally exhausted. In her dazed state she found herself climbing onto the stone slab that had acted as the medical table for the young Jedi. Resting her head on his uninjured shoulder, Merrin fell asleep within moments. And for the first time since the death of her sisters, Merrin slept soundly, no nightmares to attack her subconscious.

[Break]

Cal first knew he wasn’t dead when he felt an overwhelming pain surge through his still body. The dead don’t feel pain, nor did they have a body to feel the pain through. Or at least Cal hoped not. The second sign that Cal was still among the living was the shrill scream that threatened to bust his eardrums. The gasp of agony and strain was not just heard, but felt through the Jedi’s body. It became apparent that the unpracticed voice that produced this painful noise was his own.

The pain and gasp ended as soon as they began. His body became numb from exhaustion and help from the force calming his angry and vengeful nervous system. Maybe now he was dead?

Slowly forcing open his eyes assured him he was still alive, but man did he feel dead. His over sensitive eyes became blurry when assaulted by light. A blurred figure moved itself into Cal’s vision. On an instinct long turned paranoid by the dangers of hostile Dathomir, the Jedi went to rise to defend himself. His body and nerves fought back, furious at the slight movement. 

The overwhelming pain came back, hitting his body like a hammer to an anvil. The gasp of pain returned as well, now muffled and strained by his tired and dry throat, it was soon replaced by a childish whimper. 

A warm hand pushed against his shoulder, gently forcing his body back down. Cal wanted to fight the gentle push, but as soon as his head touched the ground his vision went black. 

The second time Cal woke the pain took it's time making itself known. When it did come, it didn’t come as a burst of sudden agony like before. Instead it washed over his body like a slow wave. Starting at his head, it washed down over his chest reaching out to his arm, further down to his legs, and finally ending at his feet. The young Jedi found that he preferred the burst of suffering rather than the torturous wave. 

Opening his eyes the room was dark, seemingly empty besides himself. Turning his head to the side brought a slight strained grown to grace his lips. A doorway, no door, with small beams of red light peaking through. ‘Must be day time outside.’

Attempting to take inventory over his body's condition, Cal raised his head, his body fighting against him with all it had. Gritting his teeth, Cal finally got a long glance at his condition before he was forced to drop his head back down. 

The first thing he had noticed was that his body was clean. Probably far cleaner than it had been in the past years. All the grim, dirt, and blood had been purged from his skin. Next his arm with the missing hand looked shorter, missing the blackened infected forearm. It must have been removed at the elbow and closed up properly. Lastly were the many new bruises that had sprouted across his body, all having lost their purple and black tone, looking more yellow like they had healed considerably. Most prominent was the new scar, still healing, that ran across his chest. Starting at his shoulder, it ran its way down almost reaching his hip bone. 

‘That bat really did a number on me.’ He had somehow made it out alive, likely saved by the Nightsister that had been attacked by the giant bat monster. 

A wave of exhaustion ended all thoughts on the fight and his current predicament. The darkness of pseudo-sleep taking Cal’s consciousness once again.

[Break]

Over the next few days Cal came in and out of consciousness many times, never for more than a few minutes at a time, and always alone and with an aching and tired body. The pain was no longer an overwhelming sensation, it had been dulled a noticeable degree to a strong soreness. 

Cal once again regained consciousness, this time with a clearer, more conscious mind. This time the room was lit, letting the injured man get a glance across the room. A room carved into the stone of the mountain. A few oil sconces line the walls, shedding a dull light across the reddish gray stone. He laid atop a stone slab covered in several layers of animal skin, in an attempt to cushion the sleeping space. The stone slab was flush against the wall opposite the door.

Kneeling down in the middle of the room, seemingly in meditation, was a humanoid figure. It took Cal’s mind a few moments to register who the figure was. The Nightsister that he had tried saving from the giant bat creature. Cal had assumed he had been successful in the endeavor, but it was a great comfort to be correct.

The Nightsister seemed to be free of any injury, her body relaxed in meditation. Though she was undoubtedly the same Nightsister from all his previous encounters, she looked considerably different from Cal’s memory of her. No doubt due to, in large part, her cowl being absent. With the cowl gone, her face was no longer partly obscured, and her hair was no longer hidden away. She looked younger without the hood, or more aptly, the hood made her look older. Upon their first encounter he had assumed she was much older, but now she looked to be his age, maybe a little older. To be honest he had expected her to have horns like the Nightbrothers. He would never have guessed silver hair. She looked more like a human than a zabrak, if Cal hadn’t known that the Nightsisters and Nightbrothers were of the same species he would have thought them to be completely different alien races. Her face markings were also different in style compared to the tattoos of the crude Nightbrothers. While their tattoos screamed a false sense of intimidation and power, hers were more elegant. Giving off a sense of discernment and dignity. Her lips were black, whether natural or a kind of makeup he wasn’t sure. The young man couldn’t help but find her beautiful. Cal could lie to himself and say he only founder attractive due to not having encountered a member of the opposite sex sense long before the destroction of the Albedo Brave, but the Jedi knew that even if that had not been the case he would still find her bewitching. 

Cal most have made some sort of sound, because the Nightsister’s eyes opened. Green eyes met brown there gazes holding for an extended moment. Brown eyes? He had expected yellow like all the male Dathomirians. ‘Just one more thing that made her seem less Zabrak and more human.’

Her words pierced the silent moment first. “You are up Jedi… good.” Merrin spoke in her native Dathomirian language. The Jedi clearly failed to understand her, seemingly only comprehending the word ‘Jedi.’ 

How had she forgotten he would not know Dathomirian. He had always spoken in the foreigner common language. The few times they had, aggressively, spoken to each other it had always been in the foreigner common language. She repeated herself, this time in his tongue. Still now response, his confused expression only shifting slightly to a more wide eyed expression.. She could've sworn she had heard him speak before. “Do you not speak?”

Cal hadn’t had a real conversation with anyone in years. Only ever a few chosen words shouted at Nightbrothers or the Nightsister during their few encounters. The Nightsister just watched him, face stoic, giving away nothing. 

Finally his voice came to him, “N-no, I can speak… Are you the one who stitched me up?” His voice, dry and scratchy. 

“Yes. You are welcome Jedi.” The end of her lip curled slightly, showing off a slight smirk. 

“Why?” 

“Would you have rather died? That is still an option if you wish.” If it weren't for the smug look she was giving him he would have thought her serious, her voice at least sounded serious. 

“N-no I’d…” Cal stuttered out, “I mean, you hated me before. Why save me now?” 

“I could ask you a similar question, could I not?”

Why did he save her? They were enemies, she had attacked him every time they met before. Because he was a Jedi? Because he has no future on Dathomir? Because it's what his master would have wanted? Maybe all of these answers, maybe none, he wasn’t sure really. Probably best to be honest. “I never hated you, but to be honest, I don’t know why I did it. It just felt like I had to. What I needed to do at the moment. It was a feeling, voices in my head conflicting with each other on what to do. Does that make any sense?”

The Nightsister pondered his words for a few moments before seemingly coming to a conclusion. “Yes, I believe I understand. My answer to the same question is similar.”

Silence takes the space between the two. Cal, unsure of what to say or ask. The Nightsister seemingly in thought, staring at the wall past the Jedi. After a few minutes her gaze dropped back down to the Jedi, her face stoic as she spoke. “For what reason is a Jedi on Dathomir?”

Where to begin? “I was stranded here when my Master and I were betrayed by our soldiers. Why they tried to kill use, I don’t know. We were stationed in a Star Distro- a large space ship in this star system. The escape pod flew me here. Dathomir is the only habitable planet in the system. I don’t know how long I have been stranded here. Has to be a few years at the very least.”

“And your Master?”

“He didn’t survive the betrayal. D-died before the pad hit the planet.” Merrin could see the pain behind the words, clear as day. “Maybe you could tell me how long I’ve been here. There would have been a large explosion far into the sky. Almost like a second sun.”

Merrin pondered this. ‘The fire in the northern sky years ago? It would have to be. Had this Jedi been on Dathomir for such a long time, how old was he when he had been stranded?’ ,“More than four years ago. In two moon cycles it will have been five years.”

‘Five years! I have been stranded on Dathomir for longer than I had been apprenticed under Master Tapal.’ The knowledge that he was nineteen years old was a sobering thought. More than a quarter of his life was lost to Dathomir.

“Why are you the only Nightsister I have seen?” Cal most have asked the wrong question as the entire demeanor of the Nightsister shifted to that of silent fury. Even the oil sconces flames appeared to dim. He was sure he was seconds from being killed, or if he was lucky, yelled at. Instead he spoke in a calm, level tone. “Why did a Jedi kill all my sisters six years ago?”

The shock from the question paralyzed the young Jedi, his thoughts, actions, and expressions all frozen from action. ‘A Jedi killed her sisters!? That couldn’t be true. The Jedi would never wipe a people off the map. She’s lying, she must be!’ Cal’s mind and pride yelled at him. ‘But she has no reason to lie! It explains why she has been so hostile to me in the past.’ His heart and logic screamed back. Cal’s mind raced, connecting all the previous encounters and actions between himself and the Nightbrothers and Nightsister. Every Dathomirian insult, their knowledge of him being a Jedi, every plea for help rejected, the Nightsister calling him a liar and murderer during their two previous encounters. It all made too much sense. It wasn’t only that, the force around them was confirming that she told no lies. She wasn’t lying, a Jedi killed her people. His people slew a whole people, but for what reason? ‘The reason does not matter. Nothing justifies genicide!’

Only one thought came to Cal upon the realization, one question. “If my people killed yours, then wh-'' He choked on his words, a lump taking its place in his throat. “Why save me?” His voice was barely above a whisper by this point.

She didn’t answer him. With a flick of her hand, making Cal flinch, the lights in the room were snuffed out. The Nightsister left the dark room without a word. Leaving Cal to his own thoughts.

[Break]

The next time Merrin went to check on the Jedi he was up, and judging by the dark circles under his eyes he probably hadn’t slept at all since their brief talk. 

“You must sleep if you are to heal properly.” She lit the lights with her magick, and crossed the room, closing the distance between them.

“I’m healing up fine. Thanks for saving my life. I forgot to say it last time.” He gave a weak smile, though his eyes betrayed his current state of mind. A smile isn't a common facial expression found on Dathomir. Cocky smirks and murderous grins, yes. Genuine smiles, even if partially forced, no. At least not since the massacre. 

“Is your missing arm bothering you? Does it hurt?”

His expression changes a little, shifting to contimplatment. His gaze shifts to said appendage. “No, not really. Probably the first time it hasn’t hurt since I lost it.”

“The infection had taken a hold within the lower arm. Tell me, how did you stop the infection from spreading past the elbow?” A question asked half out of pure curiosity, and half asked to see if she could learn more about his Jedi magicks, and to see if he would willingly offer up such secrets.

“I used the force and Meditation to keep the infection from spreading, and to dull the pain a bit.”

“Jedi, what is this forc-”

“Cal” He interrupts her next question.

She doesn't respond, but instead gives him a questioning look.

“Cal Kestis, my name. You don’t have to keep referring to me as ‘Jedi’.”

“Cal Kestis?” The Nightsister tests his name. Cal finds that he very much likes the sound of his name with her accent.

“What’s your name?”

“You wish to know my name?” She looked unamused.

“Of course. Unless you’d rather I just call you ‘Nightsister’.” Cal joked.

“I would not object. After all that is what I am, a Nightsister.” Cal must make a face when she says this, because, though she tries to muffle it, The young Jedi hears a slight giggle.

“If you really don’t wa-”

“Merrin” She interrupts.

“What?”

The Nightsister’s faint smirk returns. “You wished to know my name. Merrin.”

After a slight pause Cal responds, sensarity clear in his voice and body language. “Thank you for saving my life, Nightsister Merrin.” The large genuine smile Cal gives her brings a slight pain to the Nightsister’s chest.

“Thank you, Jedi Cal Kestis, for saving me as well.” Merrin returns his smile, though hers is a bit more reserved, though honest.

A calm silence follows. Cal relaxing his body as he rested, and Merrin resuming her check up of her patient. But soon enough Cal’s curiosity, coupled with the want for dialogue broke the calm. “What was that creature that attacked you? It was massive.”

“Gorgara, the queen of the mountain, or formar queen considering you dethroned her.” She would have continued with her explanation, but the smug, playful face Cal Kestis was giving her made her pause. He clearly wanted to say something.

“Does that make me king of the mountain?” His joking tone was intoxicating to her.

“No, it makes me queen of the mountain. Dathomir would never allow a king” Her retort making him pout. Again the slight chest pain returns briefly. “Gorgara was an ancient and oversized Chirodactyl. Known in Dathomirian legend as ‘the winged daemon of the canyon.’ Much larger than the rest of her kind, she chased off or killed the rest of her kin long ago. To have not only killed the Alpha Nydak, but also the ancient Gorgara proves you are a warrior of great skill. You should take pride in your survival.”

“Alpha Nydak?” Cal looked up at the Nightsister, “What’s a Nydak?”

“The creature that took your arm.” Merrin said matter of factly. She points at his nub. 

“That's what they’re called?” More of a statement rather than a question.

“Yes, the dominant predator on the mountain. Most Nightbrother hunting parties would struggle on fighting a single Nydak-” As she spoke Cal’s mind began to wonder. Remembering how he had lost his arm and weapon fighting the Alpha Nydak. ‘His weapon…’ “-You slaying the creature is a feat that any Nightbrother would be envious of-” A memory was trying to fight past the haziness of his mind. ‘Merrin had thrown me my master’s lightsaber back when I was fighting Gorgara!’ “-a Alpha Nydak only appears once in a gener-”

“Merrin!” He cut her off, setting up from his lying position, with difficulty. Merrin is at first startled by the Jedi’s outburst, then settles and rushes to help Cal sit up in a comfortable position. “When we fought Gorgara, you threw me my lightsaber. What happened to it? I thought it was lost forever.”

Merrin, instead of answering him, reaches a hand behind her. Hearing an audible clipping sound that he recognizes instantly, calms the frantic Cal. Her hand returns to view, revealing the missing weapon. At the sight of the weapon, Cal’s nerves relaxed, and he was filled with a sense of joy and wholeness. “Where did you find it?”

“Nightbrothers found this along with your missing hand next to the slain Alpha Nydak. It is how we knew you had killed it. If you are curious, I had your hand mummified. Do you wish to see “it?”

The emotionless way of saying she mummified his hand, and asking if he wanted to see it brought a chuckle to dry lips. The Cal from before his stranding upon Dathomir would have been put off, disgusted by the very idea, but now it just amuses him. ““I’ll pass, thank you. I don’t think I’d enjoy viewing my mummified hand.”

Merrin enjoys his laugh more than she should or would admit. Why he had laughed, she wasn’t completely sure, but it still brought the faintest of smiles to her face. Seeing this injured man, who a few days ago had been knocking on death’s door, so lively and happy made her forget the turmoil she felt with his being here.

Cal reaches out to take the weapon, wanting to hold it his hand once again. “Thanks for holding on to this for me, it's very-” Merrin yanks the weapon out of his reach. He looks up at her with confusion. Merrin’s gaze shifts to a stoic glare. “Can I have my lightsaber back?”

“I am not foolish enough to give a Jedi his weapon. You may have saved my life, but your people and mine are still enemies. Your weapon will stay with me as a trophy.” And with those cold words spoken, Cal’s wholeness was shattered once more. Merrin’s turmoil returned shortly there after. 

She expects Cal Kestis to get angry, hostile even, but he doesn't. His outstretched hand returns to his side, his face grows sorrowful, broken. He can no longer will himself to look at her, instead choosing to stair at the wall ahead, a few tiers spring forth. Merrin’s chest pain returns, no longer able to be ignored as it twisted itself into painful knots. She wants nothing more than to reach out and wipe his tears away. She wished she could return the weapon, but her sister’s voices would never allow her to. The Nightsister becomes ever grateful that the Jedi chose to look at the wall rather than at her. Her stoic gaze would surely break under his green eyes.

“Please… I-It's all I have left. All that he left me.” His mournful pleading voice is too much for the Nightsister. She relatches the weapon to her belt before leaving. She doesn't quite make it out of earshot before she hears the weeping. 

[Break]

Over the next week the two spoke little outside of Merrin checking up on his improving condition and a few ‘thank yous’ here and there. By the end of the week Cal had recovered enough to get out of bed and walk around for short periods of time, against the Nightsisters wishes. Merrin always insists he mustn't strain his damaged body, but after some reasoning/pleading from the green eyed Jedi she relented to a small degree. Allowing him to traverse the small house, but forbidding him to traverse far from the structure without Merrin. 

When Merrin goes off somewhere, Cal slowly begins to grow bored with little to do around the small, secluded structure. And a bored mind tends to wonder to areas of thought best left alone, Cal was very much aware of this. Deciding it best to go for a small walk rather than let his mind to its own cruel devices, the young Jedi sets out. He wouldn’t be gone long, or stray too far from the house. Before setting out, Cal takes with him the Duskblade. Going out unarmed on Dathomir was way past the point of bravery and dipped deeply onto the side of stupidity. 

Deciding it's probably best to head further up the peak rather than down it, the best way to avoid the wildlife of Dathomir, Cal takes to the path. It isn’t long until he comes to a cliff side that overlooks the whole of the planetary scare below. Sitting near the edge, seemingly deep in meditation, was Merrin. Hanging a few meters above the Nightsister was one of the many pod-like structures made of animal skin that could be found strung up all across the mountain. A realization comes to the young Jedi. He hadn’t just been walking in a random direction, but had subconsciously been following Merrin’s presence in the force.

“Cal Kestis, are you not supposed to be resting right now?” Merrins voice startled him back to the present. 

“I just went out to stretch my legs. Sorry for disturbing your meditation. I-I’ll just head back.”  
Cal said sheepishly as he turned to leave the Nightsister to her meditation.

“Stay. Sit with me.” He stops, turning back to her. She was no longer meditating, instead she had shifted closer to the edge, draping her legs over the edge as she sat, not even looking back at him as she spoke. “Watch the sunset with me.”

With a slight grin, Cal silently approached the edge. Taking seat a few feet from Merrin, Cal took in the view of the Dathomirian sun that was quickly approaching the horizon. Unnoticed by Cal, Merrin instead chooses to watch the Jedi rather than the fast approaching sunset.

“Cal Kestis, may I ask you a question?”

“Shoot”

‘An odd expression.’ “Have you ever seen a sun that wasn’t red? I have heard tales of planets with suns of other colors.”

Not a question Cal was expecting, but a simple enough question to answer. “Dathomir is the first planet I have been on to have a red star. I lived most of my life on Coruscant, it's where the Jedi Temple is located. Coruscant has a white star, much smaller than Dathomir’s red star. I’ve also been on the planet Ilum. Ilum has a white star as well.”

“Coruscant? Ilum?”

“Oh, uh. Coruscant is the capital of the galactic republic. It's a ecumenopolis planet, a city planet. Hundreds of billions of people live there.” Merrin almost felt like he was speaking a foreign language. ‘Galactic Republic?’ ‘Ecumenopolis planet?’ ‘Hundreds of Billions of people on a singular planet?’ Merrin hadn’t thought that many people lived in the whole of the galaxy. ‘Just how vast is this galaxy?’ “Ilum is an ice planet, no one realy lives there, but the Jedi have a temple there for younglings to get their Kyber crystals.”

An ice planet. Merrin had never seen ice before. She knew that ice could be found near the northern and southern reaches of Dathomir, but she had never seen this cold, solid water herself. She could hardly imagine a whole planet covered in the stuff. “Kyber crystals? Who are these Jedi younglings, and what are the purposes of these crystals?”

How to explain this? “Jedi younglings are children, young Jedi that have yet to be taken as an apprentice under a Jedi Master. A Kyber Crystal is a rare force attuned crystal. A youngling goes to Ilum to seek out their own crystal in the depths of the Ilum Jedi Temple. When a youngling is led to their Kyber by the force, the Jedi makes a connection to the crystal. The color of the crystal changes based on the Jedi. Blue and green are the most common colors, but other colors are possible, like yellow or purple. A Kyber crystal is used in the construction of a Jedi’s lightsaber.”

“And your color was blue?” Merrin remembers well the blue glow of his Jedi weapon, a lightsaber he calls it.

“No mine was green.” She gives him a questioning look, but elects to keep her question to herself. “My lightsaber was lost when back on the Abedo Brave. The blue lightsaber I had been using was my masters.” Cal really wanted to change the subject, not comfortable with it's direction. “What made you curious about other planets' suns?” A bit forced but it will do.

Realizing that she had gotten off the topic she had originally wanted to ask him about, Merrin paused, taking view of the starting of the sunset. “Ilyana, my closest sister, had always been curious about other star colors. I guess I learned some of this curiosity from her. Are there only red and white stars, or other colors as well?”

Cal has just successfully changed the subject. “Red, white, blue, yellow, orange, even some yellow stars can give off a slight greenish color. Red and orange stars tend to be the largest but coldest. White and blue stars are smaller but burn hotter.”

Giving the joyful Jedi a brief glance as he spoke before returning to look at the sunset. She subconsciously ringed her hands together out of nervousness. Merrin wasn’t nervous about asking her next question, or speaking to the Jedi. What she was nervous about was the potential answer she would get to her next question. Would it be a disappointing answer? Would he not know, not having paid attention to the sunsets on other planets. “On these planets with white stars, do the sunsets look different?”

Cal can sense that the question is more than simple interest, it meant something to Merrin. Probably involving this Ilyana she mentioned. “I never really thought about it, but yes they are. Less reds and oranges, and more blues, purples, with a few hints of red. At least on Coruscant. I never saw the sunset on Ilum.”

The Nightsister seemed satisfied with this answer, a slight smile coming to her face. “Ilyana would be happy to have her question answered.” She whispered under her breath. If it wern’t for the complete silence of Dathomir’s wilds, he would not have heard her.

“This Ilyana, who was she?” Cal was hesitant to ask the question, not wanting to anger Merrin, but he spoke the question before he could think about it any further.

Merrin’s amber brown eyes met his emerald green. Her smile was gone, her face adopting it's stoic mask. “She was my favored sister, we grew up together. Though she was a martial sister and was a few years my senior we were very close.” turning in her set, Merrin pointed to the animal skin pod above and a little behind them. “That is her burial pod. Where we both sit now is her cliff.” She gestured to the area around them, before turning back to the view. “We were promised to each other. She always would watch the sunset with me, we loved each other.” A pained smile grasped the Nightsisters face before her stoic mask returned to hide it away.

Cal now felt like an intruder, unwelcome in this spot that was obviously a very important and intimate place to Merrin. The rational part of his brain knew this feeling to be wrong. She had invited him to sit with her here to watch this sunset, but the feeling failed to leave him. 

After a painful silence, Cal spoke up, “Merrin have you ever been on any planets besides Dathomir?”

The Nightsister shook her head slowly before answering, “No, the coven had few space faring vessels. They had all been destroyed or stolen when we had been attacked. Even if I wanted to leave I have neither the knowledge nor tools to do so.”

“S-so there’s no way for me to get home? I’ll have to wander this planet until I rot away?” Merrin could tell this news distressed the Jedi deeply. Clearly he had hoped he could find a way off this planet of red.

“Wander? Do you not plan on staying here, Jedi?”

Cal is floored. “Stay here? But I thought…” Merrin doesn't speak, seemingly waiting for him to finish his thoughts. “I thought a Jedi wouldn’t be welcome.”

Cal had long come to believe the claims of the Nightsister, that her people had been killed by a Jedi, he couldn’t see why she would lie, and every sense he had was telling him that what she said was true. A Jedi had killed her sisters, killed Ilyana. The very thought pained the young Jedi.

“M-my people hurt you, killed your people. Why would you welcome me?”

He wasn’t given an answer. Instead Merrin just got up from her set and offered her hand to him. Taking it, Cal was pulled up to stand with difficulty due to his tender injuries. 

Merrin gave the Jedi a pained smile, “The sunset is done, it is growing dark. Come Cal Kestis, we must hurry back.” And with those words said she set off down the path, Cal following a few feet behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: Chapter 8-Year 5 Part 3-Challenger
> 
> I don't know about you guys but I had a crazy Christmas. Next Chapter is the longest yet!


	8. Year 5 Part 3-Challenger

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year! Also Happy late birthday to Kitsch_s!

The new resident Jedi baffled Merrin in many ways. Very little about him matched what she had expected of a Jedi. Over the past few years the young Nightsister had tried imagining what a Jedi warrior would look like, what they would act like, what they would be capable of in combat. Her imagination had envisioned a monstrously tall warrior dressed in armor darker than Dathomirian nights, faceless, terrifying in every sense of the word. The Jedi warrior that had slain her coven, from her brief glance, had been nothing if not terrifying. What Merrin got was a young man a few years younger than her wearing Nightbrother crafted trousers, scars painting his body like tattoos paint a Dathomirian’s body. Merrin had expected a Jedi would be colder than death, fearless of pain, cruel beyond measure, thieves and liars that only saw themselves as worth life and power. What she got was a man that was full of emotion, a warm smile not often seen on this vermilion planet, hated seeing pain as much as he hated feeling it, with a kindness not stolen from him by Dathomir, and an honest person who would throw themselves into peril for an enemy.

The only thing that Cal Kestis matched with her imagination of a Jedi was his skill in combat. His prowess was greater than any Nightbrother hunter or warrior she had ever known or seen. She doubted any martial sister could match him blow for blow in a melee. 

Merrin had asked Cal Kestis if all Jedi were as skilled as him in his craft. He had blushed and claimed that most of his skill, though built on a foundation of Jedi teachings, had been honed from his years of survival on Dathomir. The evidence of his words were etched all over his body, permanently there to tell his story of survival on a planet coated in crimson. He had mentioned how he did not like the many scars that covered his body, finding them unsightly. Merrin compared them to Dathomirian tattoos and found them anything but unsightly. When she shared her opinion of his scars, his face grew flush like he was sick or unwell and he had quickly changed the subject of conversation.

Another thing that fascinated her about the Jedi was his use of Jedi magick, or what he called “The Force”. Nightsisters called it magick and Jedi called it the force. At first she had thought their powers to be of separate sources, but after Cal had explained in detail how it felt when he used his powers and how he controlled them, it seemed too similar to her magick. Though their powers appeared different on the surface, they were both sourced from the same place, just manifested and used in different ways.

She had shown him some uses of her magick after he had shown Merrin some of his force powers. Cal Kestis was fascinated by them, though it was clear in his eyes that he was fearful of them as well. The hidden look of discomfort in his eyes had hurt her. Was he also afraid of her? If he was, what about her warranted his fear? She was a Nightsister, meant to be feared, why was she bothered with the idea of the Jedi fearing her? Merrin hated the answers the planet had supplied her with; ‘Yes he is afraid’ ‘You tried to kill him with those very powers you had shown to him.’ ‘It bothers you because you have become attached to your enemy.’

Merrin knew better than to listen to the whispers of Dathomir. The dark planet, always looking for those gifted in magick to be influenced by its words. 

The Jedi, Cal Kestis, had healed up to almost full health rather quickly. Part of it was due to her magick, and part of it was the fact he was human. Dathomirians and Zabraks may be sturdier and built stronger than humans, but they also healed slower and bled faster. 

She half expected him to leave after he was in full working order. He never seemed to be completely at ease around her. To her great relief Cal Kestis decided on staying with her near the peak of the mountain. He mostly hunted and prepared food, never allowing the local wildlife to stray too close to her home. Merrin had used to relay on tribute from the Nightbrother village for her daily meals, but after the Jedi started hunting for her she had put a halt to the hunting tribute of the village. 

The Nightsister had been more than a little surprised when she had found the Jedi roasting the roots of a mushling plant. She had watched him, hiding herself with her magick as to not disturb him and to observe without causing an incident. After boiling the roots Cal Kestis had proceeded to consume the plant roots. Making herself known, startling him, she had asked how he was able to eat a plant. Her question apparently confused him. After further discussion she had gotten her answer. Humans were not carnivores like Dathomirians were. Humans could eat plants as well as meat, but apparently not all planets. What was the deciding factor if a human could consume a particular species of plant? Merrin had always imagined intelligent life to be exclusively carnivores. All the most intelligent creatures on Dathomir were. Rancors a prime example of this with their semi-sentient minds. Cal Kestis had seemed just as surprised as the Nightsister, he hadn’t expected her or Dathomirian’s in general to be carnivores, but after thinking about it he told her he should have expected it, after all Zabraks are carnivores he had told her. 

Over their short time together the two of them had learned much about each other, their people, and their cultures. Merrin enjoyed his company more than she would ever openly admit. She was heavily conflicted about his presence here on her mountain, on her planet. On one hand, his people had killed her people, her sisters, her Ilyana. They were meant to hate and kill each other without a second thought. On the other hand he was her Light of Dathomir. He had spared her at the temple when he could have easily ended her. He had saved her from Gorgara, the queen of the mountain, an ancient evil of Dathomir. He had been nothing but kind to her since then. Even looking back at their few encounters before the run in with Gorgara, he had always tried for peace, only ever defending himself from her attacks.

The Jedi Cal Kestis was unusual to her to say the least, but she would be lying if she said she did not enjoy the time they spent together. 

[Break]

Cal found some small enjoyment in hunting, especially now that he actually knew the names of the creatures he was hunting. Rather than calling that creature a “green three eyed lizard” he now knew it as a “Sprantal”, or he would call a creature “Veeka” rather than “large red bird”; “Bane back spider” instead of “Dathomirian Spider”; “Nydak” not “long limbed creature” or “asshole that took my arm!”; “Vursonk” instead of the more fitting name “absolute nightmare.” There was a little satisfaction to actually knowing the names of many of the creatures that Cal has been hunting, fending off, and running from for the past five years. 

The Nightbrothers hunters had stopped hunting him after the Gorgara incident. Cal believed Merrin had something to do with it, but she hadn’t confirmed his suspicions. He was grateful nonetheless. He knew she was the one responsible for the endless patrols of Nightbrothers that had hounded him for years, but he couldn’t find it in himself to blame her. 

Cal didn’t have the courage to ask further on the story of the Nightsisters being destroyed by a Jedi. He feared angering or upsetting the Nightsister, and loathed learning the details of one of his own kind committing genicide. The young Jedi knew Merrin and himself would need to discuss the topic. Cal wished he could believe that Merrin was lying to him about it. But when she had first told him briefly he could see the pain and hurt in her eyes. He could feel the damage deep within the last daughter of Dathomir. But the topic was too volatile to breach for now. So Cal didn’t, he shelved the conversation for the future and thought of only the present.

Currently the young Jedi hunter was returning from said hunting activity with two full sized Veeka in hand. Though hard to catch even when relaying on force abilities, the taste of the red-plumed birds meat was worth it. Merrin didn’t seem to care what Cal hunted and would eat anything he cooked, but Cal really had a preference for Veeka stew compared to other food options.

As he drew nearer to the Nightsister’s residence he could hear the echoes of two voices locked in a shouting match. Recognizing one of the voices, though not the words spoken, Cal started to pick up his pace, Veeka thrown over his shoulder to free up his hand. 

When the origin of the shouting match came into view Cal saw four individuals. Merrin and three Nightbrothers. She was in an intense argument with the largest of the Nightbrothers, a pink skinned Nightbrother with a large two handed sword slung over his shoulder. The sword and pink skin seemed familiar, but the Jedi could hardly tell why. The two other Nightbrothers watched the yelling pair with nervous gazes. They looked back and forth between the Nightsister and the pink Nightbrother, seemingly gaging which one to be more afraid of. Cal couldn’t understand a lick of the shouting match as the few lessons of the Dathomirian language Merrin had given him had yet to stick to a usable degree. 

Approaching the group, and stopping a few meters away from them, Cal still hadn't been noticed. “What’s going on!”

The shouting ceased and all four pairs of eyes locked onto the one who interrupted them. The pink Nightbrother gave Cal a cocky smirk as his two lackeys glared daggers at him. When Merrin’s gaze landed on the red head, her angry gaze softened, but soon morphed into her usual stoic stare. Pinky shouted something at the Jedi in native Dathomrian, probably an insult from what Cal could gather. Merrin's angry gaze returns as her head turns sharply at the Nightbrother. She responds with a few choice words that seem to sting Pinky’s ego, biting deep. The cocky smirk shifts to a fury filled glare. His glare was aimed at the Nightsister for only a moment until it was redirected at Cal. He starts approaching Cal, aggression clear in his movements, but before he makes it that far Merrin appears in between the two, having teleported the short distance with her Nightsister magick. The Nightbrother stops, startled by her sudden appearance and use of Magick.

“What’s going on.” Cal repeats himself.

Merrin turns to Cal, annoyance clear. Cal had an idea as to who was the source of the annoyance and it wasn’t him. “Elsal” she motions to Pinky, “is challenging you to a fight in the arena.”

“A fight… Why?”

“He wishes to challenge your victory over Gorgara.” She says it so matter of factly it almost makes sense to the young Jedi.

Finally getting a closer look at the pink Nightbrother, Elsal, Cal finally realized where he had recognized him. The echo he had felt when he had touched the weapon of the deceased Nightbrother killed by Bane Back Spiders years ago. The vision the echo shared with him had shown a duel between the deceased Nightbrother and another Nightbrother. Elsal was that other Nightbrother in the vision. 

“My victory over Gorgara. Why does he care about that?” It really made no sense to the Jedi. Sure Gorgara was a legendary creature, from what Merrin had told him, but how does that concern this Elsal? And why is it important enough to him to warrant challenging him to a fight?

“He wants you gone. Says you took what was rightfully his by slaying Gorgara.” Merrin scofs after saying this, giving a look of disgust at Elsal.

‘Rightfully his?’ That doesn't make any more sense than before. Looking at the scathing smirk, filled with contempt and hatred that Elsal shot his way, Cal found that he doesn't like this Nightbrother, he really does not like him. First he yells at Merrin, a person Cal is ever grateful for, but he also challenges Cal to a fight for seemingly no reason besides he hates Cal. “Do I get a Choice?”

Merrin shakes her head. “No. Under Dathomirian tradition a challenged cannot be refused.”

The young Jedi warrior looks up into the eyes of the arrogant Nightbrother, his face determined. “Well, a fight he will have then.”

[Break]

Merrin was unreasonably worried and absolutely furious. She knew that she had no reason to be worried about the fight in the arena. Cal Kestis, the Jedi, was a greater warrior than any Nightbrother, he had proven so when he had escaped unending hunting parties, slain the Alpha Nydak that a dozen of the greatest Nightbrother warriors could face and all fail, and single handedly slain Gogara, the legendary queen of the mountain. Merrin would not be exaggerating if she said that if the whole of the Nightbrother village fought the beast it would not be a successful hunt. Cal Kestis may have been injured from the fight, but he was almost completely healed from the ordeal. There was little chance that the Jedi would lose to any Nightbrother in open combat, even if that Nightbrother was Elsal the greatest warrior of the village. So Merrin had no reason to be worried or concerned.

But the Nightsister had every right to be livid beyond comparison. She was absolutely fuming. No Nightbrother had any right to question the words, choices, or declarations of a Nightsister. Especially not the social leech that was Elsal. He was no respectable hunter, nor was he an honorable warrior that protected the village from the nature of Dathomir encroaching upon their lands. No, Elsal was a gladiator of the arena. He provided nothing but problems for his fellow Nightbrothers. He did not hunt for his own, he bullied other brothers for what he wanted, and if they resisted then he would challenge them to a fight in the arena. Elsal had become the greatest warrior of the village with a combination of his superior weapon, larger build, and a natural born skill. Yet he never used these gifts for the betterment of the village, he only ever took what wasn’t his. 

His stupidity and arrogance had made him forget his place, and he no longer looked at the Nightsister as a being to be worshiped and feared. 

Merrin knew she should have seen this coming. If any Nightbrother had been lucky enough to have slain Gorgara, Elsal would have challenged them to a fight in the arena over their right to be hers. So it should have been expected that when she had announced that Gorgara had been slain by the Jedi and that Merrin had declared him the victor to the challenge that Elsal would challenge Cal Kestis’ victory. 

Merrin had only told the Nightbrother village as an afterthought. She knew sooner or later the village would be asking questions about Gorgara’s death, and would renew their requests for her to either take a mate or declare another challenge. Declaring the Jedi the victor and her chosen fixed all the problems at once. She would have no need to come up with another impossible challenge, nor would she be requested to take a mate if she already had one, at least publicly, and it was the easiest way to explain to the village the Nightsisters change of attitude towards Cal Kestis. She wouldn’t even need to actually take Cal Kestis as her actual mate as long as the village just believed him to be. 

It was a rather simple and effective plan. Elsal’s challenge was only a small problem that would not matter in the long run. 

The challenge was not the reason Merrin was driven to anger. What had angered the Nightsister so, was the attitude Elsal had shown to Merrin. Nightbrothers were animals to be used by Nightsisters. A Nightbrother was supposed to view a Nightsister as a domesticated animal views it's owner; they must worship, fear, and be submissive. Elsal had insulted her choice, the Jedi, and in doing so insulted the Nightsister. He had the nerve to claim she was rightfully his, just because he was the greatest combatant of the Nightbrothers. Nightbrothers had no right to claim ownership over a Nightsister, even if a Nightbrother was chosen as a mate they could be thrown away or killed if the Nightsister grew bored. Not a rare occurrence. Elsal had even told her that taking an outsider was shameful and a disgrace. 

Merrin would have killed Elsal right then and there for his audacity if Cal Kestis hadn’t shown up at that very moment. Once the challenge had been officially given her hands were tied. The Jedi would have to fight Elsal.

The Nightsister really hated how worried she was. Merrin would be lying to herself if she said that the only reason she was worried is because she would be expected to take Elsal as hers if the Jedi lost. There was no reason to be worried about such an outcome. Even if on the off chance that Elsal were to come out as victorious she would still kill him over what he had said. It was her right to do so, the other Nightbrothers would not bat an eye at such actions.

She was unreasonably fearful that her Jedi would be harmed in the bout in the arena. She could not understand and hated that she was sent into an internal panic at the very thought of Cal Kestis getting hurt or worse. Even worse that it was her fault and she could not intercede. 

Up until a moon cycle ago he was the enemy, her object of revenge. She should care less about his well being, revel in the idea of his harm. Merrin wasn’t supposed to have feelings for a Jedi, wasn’t supposed to fret over his safety like a mother fretting over their daughters wellbeing.

The fact that the Jedi was her Light on Dathomir should have been made a mute point upon her discovery of that fact. All her obsessions should have been dropped, forgotten to the winds of Dathomir. But that is sadly not how the mind works. It had only made her conflicted, and Merrin hated herself for developing such an obsession. As she had grown to know the person that was Cal Kestis the conflicted feelings had only grown. His presence made her feel safe, calm, complete.

The Light on Dathomir was finally hers, safe now with her, her mind would scream, but Merrin’s sister's voices would scream back, calling her ‘Light’ the enemy who’s people had destroyed them. Merrin found it hard to view the red headed Jedi as the enemy. Her life has only improved from the short time he has been a part of it. She can sleep soundly when falling asleep in the same room as him, when he's around she can push her traumatizing memories away. 

So Merrin was still worried, and no self reasoning or conflicted feelings would stop that.

[Break]

The Duskblade in Cal’s hands was heavy, at least when compared to a lightsaber. Cal had grown to accommodate its weight, even gaining a small amount of comfort from it. Not as much comfort he gained from the gentle blue glow of his former weapon, but it was something. The glow of a lightsaber made the weapon feel more alive, but the weight of this duskblade made it feel more real, more material. Cal still preferred the use of his traditional weapon, but he could hardly imagine a better alternative. 

Looking down at the black metal blade, it really was beautiful to gaze upon. While the lightsaber was a proud weapon used by humble force users, the duskblade was a humble weapon used by proud force users. The differences between the two weapons seemed to highlight the differences between the Jedi Order and the Nightsister Covens. 

Cal had been lucky that Merrin, after she had claimed his weapon as her own, allowed him the use of the Duskblade, the apparently traditional weapon of martial Nightsisters. No other weapon would have been an option, as all the Nightbrother weapons were intended to be used in two hands. Be they the usual large maces and plasma bows, or the rare greatsword that his opponent used. If she hadn’t allowed the use of the Duskblade, Cal would have been left weaponless. He wouldn’t have been able to hunt, and he would have been left to fight in this arena with a bare hand. Not a fun idea.

Looking up, Cal eyed his soon to be opponent, who was currently sitting on a rock on his own side of the arena, cleaning his weapon. Elsal was a good foot taller than even the largest of the other Nightbrothers, he practically towered over the average sized Jedi, which was not surprising, even Merrin was a little taller than Cal. Elsal’s skin was a light shade of red that almost looked like a dull pink, and his tattoos ran across his body like symmetrical black bolts of lightning. Cal considered himself to be in great shape, he was a little on the thinner side, but he no doubt had a well honed musculature. His opponent had broad shoulders, full muscles that were clearly for show as much as they for practicality. Elsal’s whole being yelled confidence, but Cal could see past that confidence, and see only stupidity. Elsal was far from the deadliest opponent Cal had faced in his life, maybe if Elsal was lucky he'd make it into the top five.

Elsal, seemingly feeling the Jedi’s eyes on him, looked up from his task of cleaning his massive sword. Cal hated the cocky smirk that Elsal shot his way, but soon enough Elsal’s gaze shifted away from the Jedi warrior. Following the pink Nightbrothers gaze, Cal spotted Merrin enter the arena. Elsal was watching Merrin. Looking back at Elsal, as he watched the Nightsister. The gaze he saw disgusted the Jedi. The pink Nightbrother was watching Merrin was an animalistic hunger and lust in his eyes. An unknown anger and disgust towards the pink Nightbrother rose inside Cal. Cal had known he disliked this Nightbrother from their brief but eventful first encounter but now he knew he hated the man. How dare he look at Merrin like she was an object. 

Cal hadn’t known the amber eyed Nightsister for long, but in that short time he had grown to respect, even care for her. She had saved his life, given Cal a sense of foundation in his life that he had lost long ago. Sure they had/have a few rough patches in their relationship, but Merrin was important to him. And here was this arrogant and brutish Nightbrother that only saw her as an object of lust and nothing else.

Merrin had told Cal that he was not to use his force powers, but besides that anything was fair game. This was a fight to the death after all, or atleast a fight till someone either submitted, could no longer continue or died. Cal had no plans to kill Elsal, but he had every intention to win. 

Finally came the signal from the Nightsister for the gladiatures to stand and ready themselves. Cal stepped forward and took the traditional stance of lightsaber Form I, Shii-cho. Shii-cho was often seen as the most primitive of the seven lightsaber forms, as it was the first form developed when the lightsaber had first been invented, and it was the first form taught to younglings when first learning to use the traditional weapon of the Jedi Order. Among Padawans, Forms V and VI were much more popular. Form V for it's much more flashy moves and aggressive techniques, and Form VI because it was considered the most well balanced lightsaber form. But Cal had always preferred Form I, and had chosen to specialize in said form, becoming quite skilled in its use. The only other form he had any considerable skill in was Form III, mostly because after the start of the Clone Wars, it was expected for all Jedi to train a considerable amount in Form III for it's defensive capabilities against blaster fire that the other forms often lacked. 

Master Tapal had acknowledged Cal’s above average skill in form one, and had told the young Cal that though Form I was deliberate and raw, when used by a master of the form it could be both fluid and highly randomized, saying “Simplicity is the strength of Form I. It's the foundation of all the other forms for a reason young padawan. It's simplicity allows for flexibility and unpredictability.” Cin Drallig the Battlemaster of the Jedi order, who often leactured younglings on the lightsaber forms, once told him, “When all other forms will not do, or fail you, Form I is an effective fall back option.”

Cal was rather glad he had chosen to specialize in Shii-cho. It allowed him the flexibility and adaptability he needed when he had been forced to switch to the use of the Duskblade. Cal doubted that he could have as easily transitioned weapons if he hadn’t been so specialized in Form I. He doubted any of the other forms would have been able to effectively transition to the use of a none lightsaber bladed melee weapon.

Elsal chose a much more traditional stance, clearly not based in any lightsaber form. Cal would have been rather confused and maybe a little concerned if he had adopted a lightsaber form stance.

With a simple wave of Merrin’s hand the two warriors charged at each other, or more aptly Elsal charged at the readied Jedi.

As Merrin watched the bout, she could not help but notice the change in Cal Kestis’ fighting style. When she had watched him fight Gorgara every movement had beauty behind it. All his strikes, defensive perrys, and movements all combined into what looked more like a dance than swordsmanship. It was both beautiful, powerful, and precise, but now it no longer held the beauty. It still held power and precision, but that there was clearly something missing. It did not take long for the Nightsister to deduce what the missing puzzle piece was. Cal Kestis, the Jedi warrior, was not using the traditional weapon of his people. The traditional weapon that currently hangs from Merrin’s belt. He had used the lightsaber, she thinks that is what Cal Kestis had called it, when he had fought Gorgara. Now he used a Duskblade, a potent weapon for sure, but it was not what he had been trained in. The Duskblade was clearly holding him back, still effective, but his skill was dulled when he used it.

Despite this Cal Kestis was still metaphorically walking circles around his opponent. Elsal would have been long dead if it were not for the fact that the Jedi had no intention to slay or injure his foe. Elsal had lost his arrogant attitude shortly after the combat started, and he was quickly losing ground. 

The only things Elsal had over the Jedi was his larger, heavier, and longer weapon, as well as greater stamina due to having two hearts.

But Cal Kestis had fought and successfully killed the Alpha Nydak, whose arms were both longer, heavier, and faster than Elsal’s greatsword. Making Elsal’s first advantage mute. The Jedi had also held the initiative in the fight the whole time, pressing the large Nightbrother to stay on the defence, an exhausting task when using such a massive and unwieldy weapon. Couple that with Cal keeping close to make it difficult for Elsal to use his longer and more cumbersome weapon, and forcing him to retreat constantly. This exhausted the Nightbrother quickly, making his greater stamina a mute point as well. 

Cal took a quick glance at the spectating Nightsister. To most viewers one would see her usual stoic bored gaze, but he could see the swift and rapid movements of her eyes as she watched every move he and his opponent made. He could see the small droplet of sweat that trailed down her face. He could even feel her worry through the force.

Merrin usually took precautions to cover her emotions in the force, it was usual to do so when growing up around other force users. Her precautions seemed to have failed her, either due to the emotions being particularly strong or her being too distracted to notice, probably a mix of the two. 

Merrin was worried about his well being. Cal hadn’t felt anothers worry directed towards his sense Master Tapal. The forgotten feeling warmed his heart, forcing a pleasant buzz up his spine.

Looking back at his strained opponent, Cal’s hatred returned with greater strength, he felt only fury for the formerly arrengent Nightbrother. Cal could feel Elsal direct only hatred and fear towards him. Elsal had been the one to stupidly challenge the Jedi warrior to a duel to the death. Elsal only had himself to blame if he were to die in this bout. 

Cal recalled the look he had directed at Merrin, the fire in his chest burned hotter. He recalled the words Elsal had yelled at Merrin. While the Jedi couldn’t understand, he understood that what Elsal had said had been insults directed at both himself and Merrin. The flame flared again, reaching a critical point. At that very moment Cal hated this pink Nightbrother with every fiber in his body. 

A quiet voice spoke into his ear, “Kill him. He deserves none of your mercy.” And Call would do exactly that.

Elsal, in his desperation and exhaustion, went for a wide swing with his weapon, but it was too slow, and before the swing could bring itself to bare, Cal closed the distance between the two. Aiming for a killing downward strike that would bisect the Nightbrother down the middle. 

At the last moment that could change the outcome another voice spoke into his other ear, but unlike the wicked whisper that spoke before, this voice was loud and decisive; “No!”

Cal redirected the killing blow. Instead of splitting Elsal in two equal halves it instead lobed off the Nightbrother dominant arm in the middle of the upper arm. The mono-molecular edge of the Duskblade cut through the muscular limb as easily as it would have cut through air. Elsal’s arm, still clutching it's weapon, fell to the ground with a sickening thud and painful clang. Within seconds Elsal was on his knees clutching his new stump. To his credit, the Nightbrother did not scream or cry, nor did he faint. But Cal sure felt like he wanted to do all three.

The fight was over and Cal felt sick. He never wanted to hurt the arrogant Nightbrother, he had set out to just tire the behemoth into submission. Instead he had let his anger overtake him, almost killing Elsal, and crippling him.

After Merrin had declared him the victor, the Jedi walked off to be alone. Merrin watching her upset Jedi as he went.

[Break]

Merrin had decided on not killing Elsal. There were two main reasons for the Nightsister coming to this decision. First, she may not have killed him, but neither did she heal his wound. She had left Elsal’s stump to be healed by the crude, painful, and ineffective healing methods of the Nightbrothers. It matters little if she killed him or not, because even if the infection, he would no doubtably get from his wound, didn’t kill him his fellow brothers would. Elsal had only been respected and given what he wanted by the village because of his strength and skill in combat. But with those assets lost along with his arm he was no longer safe from the villagers' wrath. Elsal had no means to provide for himself let alone the community. He had wronged too many of his brothers, taken too much of the village's resources. It was no secret that Elsal was hated by the other Nightbrothers, and he no longer had their fear of him as protection. If he was not killed out right, either from an arena challenge or murder, than he would die from starvation.

A fitting death for an animal who had forgotten his place. Elsal had thought himself invincible, equal to or greater than the Nightsisters. Thought he was entitled to be her mate just because he was the best fighter in the Nightbrother village. His arrogance had driven him to believe he could kill the one who had slain Gorgara in open combat. Elsal had probably assumed that the Jedi’s victory over the behemoth had been pure luck or a fluck. Now Elsal was nothing but a new and hated burden of the Nightbrother village that would be dealt with on its own.

The second reason Merrin had chosen to spare the pink Nightbrother the mercy of a quick death was that she knew it would upset Cal Kestis if she were to slay his former opponent. The opponent that he had spared. Cal Kestis had given Elsal a mercy, by only taking his arm rather than his life, the Nightbrother did not deserve. But that did not mean the outcome of the fight did not concern her. 

She had not known the young green eyed Jedi long, but even so she could tell the outcome of the bout had not been what Cal Kestis had wanted. He had been nothing but kind, honest and caring since she had known him. Merrin had fully expected the Jedi to beat Elsal without permanently harming the Nightbrother, but that is not what had happened. Her Light of Dathomir had crippled Elsal instead, but that was not all. Even though she was no martial Nightsister, she had seen Ilyana practice her martial skills enough to know the flow of melee combat. Cal’s winning strike had at first been aimed to kill, only changing trajectory at the last critical moment.

After being declared the victor, Cal had clearly been shaken by what had transpired, what he had done. Merrin had left the Jedi to himself afterwards, to allow him time to clear his head. Now though, Merrin had grown worried as the hours past and dusk approached. 

Finally as daylight was nearing its end the Nightsister chose to meditate to check up on the resident Jedi. It did not take her long to locate his light, he was not far. He seemed to have taken a liking to Ilyana’s cliff and was currently there. The sun would set soon, so going to watch it as well as retrieve Cal Kestis would be covenant.

When she had made it to the cliff the Jedi was sitting, his feet dangling over the edge as he watched the sunset. He had most certainly noticed her presence, yet he made no acknowledgement of it. Nor did he acknowledge the Nightsister as she approached and took the seat next to him. 

“You are upset.” It was no question, only a statement of fact. His only answer was a subtle node of his head.

This concerned Merrin, Cal had never been a very talkative person, but nor did he refrain from speaking. “Cal Kestis, please speak to me. I wish to help.”

“I didn’t mean to cut his arm off.” Merrin could tell that Cal Kestis was holding back his emotions from showing on his face, he was not very good at it, and he could not hide his emotions from her magick.

“I know.” She places her tattooed hand on his bare shoulder, he flinches at the touch, but Merrin does not remove it. “If you did not mean to disarm him, then what had driven you to do so?”

He did not immediately answer her, but Merrin was a patient person and would allow him his time. After a period of a few minutes the Jedi spoke, “If I tell you, you would think I was crazy.”

She released a small chuckle, something that has become more frequent since she had known Cal Kestis. “I already think you are odd, there is not much for you to lose.”

That got a small smile from him, as well as a return chuckle, but the smile did not reach his eyes and his laugh was dry and forced. “I guess you are right,” his smile left him, the small amount of mirth dissipating. “I-I heard a voice while I was fighting him, whispering in my ear to kill him. I-I almost listened to it. But before I would have killed him I heard another voice, the voice of my dead master, yell at me “No””

Understanding came to the Nightsister. Merrin knew the first voice well, all the Nightsisters had, and even some Nightbrothers were familiar with it. “The whisper was the voice of Dathomir.”

“The planet?” He was now looking at her as if she was the crazy one.

“Dathomir has a will of its own. It was not uncommon for Nightsisers to hear its voice.”

The young Jedi seemed to be processing this new information that had been given to him, after a short while he spoke again. “Have you ever heard the planet?”

“Yes, a few times, but its voice is not the only way Dathomir enforces or lets known it's will.” That was clearly not the answer Cal Kestis was hoping for, but it would hurt him more if Merrin chose to lie to make him feel better. The redhead had probably hoped to learn a way to block out this planetary voice, or at least some technique to ignore it. Sadly Merrin had no such knowledge.

As the sun is lost completely behind the horizon, Merrin speaks again. “I must apologize, Cal Kestis. It was my fault you had to take part in that fight. I am sorry you were put into such a situation because of me.”

Cal looked at the Nightsister next to him. Green eyes met brown eyes. That made no sense to the Jedi. Merrin was not at fault for the challenge, that burden rested completely on Elsal. “What do you mean, Elsal chall-”

“I have not been initially truthful with you.” The Nightsister interrupted him, Cal could see a slight red flush come to Merrin’s stoic face. Cal could hardly imagine Merrin being embarrassed.

“What do you mean?”

“I withheld information as to why you had been challenged. When I said Elsal challenged you because he claimed you took what he saw as rightfully his by slaying Gorgara I was not referring to the glory of slaying the beast.” She paused, and looked away from him, her gaze going back to the horizon. “When I became of age as a Nightsister the Nightbrothers wanted me to take a mate to rebuild the coven.”

Cal could feel his face heat up as she spoke, though he had no idea where she was going with this.

“I had no desire for a mate so to plakate the Nightbrother village I declared that the warrior that slew Gorgara I would take them as my servant and mate, believing such an accomplishment to be impossible.”

Now Cal had an idea of where this was going. He wouldn’t be surprised if his face was as red as his hair at this very moment.

“When you defeated Gorgara, I declared you the victor so the Nightbrothers would not cause trouble. Elsal challenged you because he wished to be taken as my mate.” Her nose went up in disgust, Cal could not blame her.

“So if I lost you would have had to take him?” Cal asked the question, but he found that really did not want the Nightsister to answer him.

Merrin laughed, not a chuckle, but a full on laugh. A rare occurrence. “No, I would have killed him.”

“You can do that!?” Could she really just kill a Nightbrother just like that. Cal had learned that the Nightbrothers were considered lesser than the Nightsisters in Dathomirian culture, and that they acted as servants for the Nightsisters, but he hadn’t thought that a Nightsister could just kill a Nightbrother for seemingly no reason. 

Merrin finally looked back at Cal, her blush was gone. “Nightsisters are the rulers of Dathomir, and since I am the last I am the sole ruler of Dathomir. I can do as I wish.” She pauses before continuing. “Elsal had insulted a Nightsister, he is lucky to be alive.”

“Oh” That was all Cal could say, he had no idea how to process this. After an uncomfortable silence, Merrin stoic stare burning a hole into the side of his head, that was surely as crimson as the planet now. 

“Does that mean I am your…” Cal couldn’t finish the sentence or thought.

“My Mate?” She says it so matter of factly Cal thinks he may be going crazy.

“Yes, that…”

“As far as the Nightbrothers are concerned, yes, but that is only for show. As far as I am concerned I am still mateless, you needn't worry.''

“That’s… good.” Cal releases a breath he didn’t know he was holding. He thinks his flush is finally starting to fade. 

Merrin risis from her seat, refusing to look at the Jedi. “Come, it is dark.” She moves to leave, Cal is not far behind her. Cal doesn't know why, but he felt a new heavy weight in his chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Weeks Chapter: Chapter 9-Year 6 Part 1-Knowing You
> 
> I tried looking up what lightsaber form Cal uses in game and the form most people seem to think he uses is Form 1, Shii-cho. Hope everyone had a great New Years!


	9. Year 6 Part 1-Knowing You

Merrin and Cal Kestis’ daily dynamics seemed to have a comfortable routine for the two, or that's at least how Merrin felt. She had no idea if the Jedi felt the same way, but he seemed happy enough.

Both the young Jedi and the Nightsister were early risers and tend to be awake well before the sun. Merrin had always been an early riser from what the Nightsister told Cal, when he had been curious enough to ask. As for him, he hadn’t always been an early riser, nor had he always been a light sleeper. He had begun sleeping light during his time on the Albedo Brave and working with the 13th Clone Battalion, living around soldiers would do that to you he supposed.. Cal had also learned to be an early riser shortly after making planet fall on Dathomir, as it seemed all of Dathomir deadly wildlife woke up at sunrise, and Cal needed to wake before them if he wanted to live long on Dathomir. 

Cal was still confused as to why the silver haired Nightsister insisted he sleep in her room, she had even brought in a second bed for Cal to use. Cal was completely fine, and frankly more comfortable with sleeping somewhere else, But Merrin wouldn’t hear of it. At first Cal had thought that the reason was because the Nightsister didn’t trust him, and wanted to keep an eye on him at all times. Though Cal had long dropped that theory. Then he thought, maybe it was due to his injuries and she was worried about his well being, wanting to keep him close, but that theory also no longer made sense to Cal, because he was pretty much fully healed. The most recent theory that had also been promptly thrown out as well was that she wanted to keep up appearances, as Cal was, at least publicly, her ‘chosen’. That made no sense either, as how would the Nightbrothers know if the two slept in the same room or not. So Cal had no answer that he was satisfied with, and Merrin never gave an answer to that particular question. So the Jedi just chopped it up to being a cultural thing, and left it at that for now.

After the two would wake up, Merrin would head off to the Nightsisters hot springs to clean herself, while Cal would go hunt for the two’s meals for the day. Cal would clean himself at the hot springs at night right before going to bed. By the time Cal had finished hunting, Merrin would be finished with the hot Springs, and already be heading down to the Nightbrother village. 

After Cal Kestis’ slaying of Gorgara, Merrin had started to make more frequent trips down to the village to make sure the Nightbrothers stayed in order, and to enforce her will as the ruler of Dathomir. The Jedi would either join her or would stay near the peak to practise with the Duskblade, never letting his skills grow rusty. 

On the rare occasion when Merrin would choose to not visit the village she would find herself watching the Jedi as practise.

Around midday the two would prepare the food Cal had hunted that morning for their midday meal. Dathomirian culture called for two meals a day, rather than the three meals a day that Cal had grown up with. The first meal was usually eaten at midday, and the second was eaten before or at sundown. 

After their midday meal, the two would often talk for hours on end. Cal Kestis would often ask questions pertaining to the planet Dathomir, be it history, wildlife, or culture. And Merrin would answer his questions to the best of her ability. As for the Nightsister, she would often ask questions pertaining to the vast galaxy as well as the Jedi order. Cal Kestis would happily supply her with answers when he had them, often prompting more questions from the Nightsister.

Merrin would also use this time to teach Cal Kestis the Dathomirian native language. The Jedi was a faster learner then she had expected. Apparently Cal already knew multiple languages that he had learned during his time as a Jedi. Though Cal was still a long while from fluency in Dathomrian.

A few times their discussions had turned to Merrin asking about the Jedi’s time on Dathomir before he had defeated Gorgara. Though such talks rarely got deep or lasted long.

The two had an unspoken rule to avoid certain topics of discussion, namly Cal Kestis would ask about Merrin’s past, and she would refrain from asking about Cal’s past predating his time on Dathomir. 

After the hours of talking the two separate for meditation. This separation at first had bothered Merrin. In Nightsister culture meditation was viewed as social time to be spent with close ones, and she had wanted to continue this tradition with Cal Kestis. But Cal as well as Jedi culture saw meditation as very personal, an activity to be done alone, or on rare occasions between a master and padawan. So the two meditated separately most days, usually Cal Kestis did so in a spare room while she meditated in their shared room. 

On the few occasions that Merrin would convince or guilt the Jedi to join her for meditation, they would meditate at Ilyana’s cliff. Merrin preferred meditating with the Jedi present, as feeling her light's calm presence through her magic while he was so close, calmed the Nightsister greatly. Even though Cal Kestis would not tell her how he felt about their joint meditations, it was plain as day to Merrin that the red head enjoyed them almost as much as she did.

The two would often cease their meditations shortly before sunset to prepare for their second meal and eat. Afterwards the two would make their way to Ilyana’s cliff to watch the sunset. The two rarely spoke while watching Dathomir’s red sun disappear behind the horizon. 

But not this night.

Tonight Merrin wished to break an unspoken rule, and ask about one of their taboo subjects. The Nightsister had no real reason to ask and break the taboo outside of pure curiosity that had been eating at her for a long time. She was curious to know anything she could about her Jedi companion, no matter how small the detail. 

Merrin had always been the curious type. It was how Merrin had become such a skilled and powerful magick user in her short life. But even her curiosity of magick knowledge pailed in comparison to her wanting to know more about Cal Kestis, the Jedi that had saved her life.

She knew that Dathomir had influenced Cal’s short life heavily, but that much she has already learned about. But the parts of Cal’s personality that Merrin cared for the most and was most curious about had been imprinted into the Jedi’s person long before Dathomir had a chance to sink its claws into the green eyed Jedi. In particular Merrin could tell, with the small snippets Merrin got from the Jedi, that Cal Kestis had been heavily influenced by his deceased master. That was the subject Merrin was going to break the taboo over.

So here Merrin was, sitting next to Cal Kestis as the two watched the descending vermilion sun, and the reds and oranges of the sunset. Or at least Cal was watching the sunset. The Nightsister instead found herself watching the Jedi, finding the red of his hair much more fascinating at that moment. ‘Ilyana would surely take issue with me finding hair more interesting than her much beloved sunset.’ Merrin wondered what his hair felt like to the touch. ‘Would it be hot like a red flame?’ Surely not, but the thought was amusing at the very least. Would it feel similar to her own hair texture, or would it be softer? It definitely looked soft. Oh how Merrin wished she had taken the chance to learn it's texture under her fingers when the Jedi had been unconscious after his fight with Gorgara. Sadly she had not, and was left with yet another curiosity. 

Cal Kestis seemed to have picked up on her Gaze, and he looked at Merrin with an unspoken question.

“Cal Kestis, forgive me for what I am about to ask.”

“What are you going to ask?”

“May I know more about your master, and your time with him?” She moves to put her hands over Cals hand, that he had been using to lean against as he sat. The gesture was intimate and reckless, but to Merrin it felt right and made her heart beat faster.

Cal Kestis seemed to have been temporarily distracted by the touch, his face gaining a light pink flush, and his eyes taking a nervous glance down at their hands. But the embarrassment he was showing left the Jedi when he registered what Merrin had asked him.

“You want to know about Master Tapal?” His concern to discuss the topic was clear to the Nightsister.

Merrin’s only response was to nod, fearful that if she spoke she may retract the question. 

After a small period of hesitancy, Cal began to tell the tale of his time under Jedi Master, General Jaro Tapal. Starting with the day he had been chosen to be Master Tapal’s padawan. As Cal Kestis spoke of his time with his master, the nervousness of his words and facial expressions left him, as he remembered fondly his time with the old Jedi master. Merrin listened intently to every word spoken, finally having answers to many of her questions she had concerning this red headed and green eyed Jedi. Why he was so kind, forgiving, and what had made him into the person he was today, made him into her Light on Dathomir. But as he spoke, and she listened, Merrin’s mind couldn’t help but produce many more questions to be answered. She refrained from asking them though, refrained from disturbing the Jedi as he spoke, they were questions for later. 

The sun had long left past the horizon. The only reason Merrin had noticed this was due to not being able to see Cal’s green eyes and expressive face as well in the darkness.

Cal’s happy demeanor began to falter and fade as he continued, and soon it became apparent as to why that was. He was approaching the topic of his master's death and his own stranding on Dathomir. When he spoke of his trusted soldiers and friends betraying them without hesitation for a reason unknown, it angered Merrin beyond reason. ‘Who would betray one so young and innocent as Cal was, still is to some degree?’ As he reached the point where Master Tapal died, Cal Kestis visibly started to break down. When Cal had finished his tale and fell silent Merrin could see the pain in his eyes and soul, and soon a few tears began to escape. Seeing her Jedi, her friend, her Light cry broke something inside the Nightsister that she had thought she had lost long ago. Cal Kestis was the strongest person she knew and seeing him like this hurt her. Acting on impulse she brought the crying warrior into her embrace. Cal did not fight her, and soon he was crying a weak whimper into her shoulder, shaking in her arms.

Silence fell over the dark cliff besides the low cries of the young Jedi mourning his lost master and father figure. After a few minutes, Cal’s cries weakened and soon he was breaking the embrace, his face red and damp.

“Thank you. I’m sorry for breaking down like that Merrin.” Cal Kestis could not bring himself to look at the Nightsister. The embarrassment and shame evident in his low voice.

“Do not apologize for mourning a loved one.” 

The mourning Jedi finally brought his eyes up to meet hers. “Thank you.”

All Merrin does is nod before getting up to leave for home. All the while the weight on the side of her belt began to become uncomfortable. The Jedi’s lightsaber, Cal Kestis had once told her that it had belonged to his master, and she remembers the words that he had spoken when he had been bed ridden and Merrin had told him that she would be keeping the Jedi weapon, “Please… I-It's all I have left. All that he left me.” The dots were not hard for her to connect. The lightsaber had been all that he had left to remember his master besides memories, and she had taken it from him.

[Break]

Merrin the Nightsister wasn’t the easiest person for Cal to understand. Not that he was the best at reading others. When he had been an apprentice under Master Tapal, his ability to read others was rather lacking compared to his peers, and that surely hadn’t improved from his time on Dathomir. Though Cal liked to think he was getting there, that he was slowly starting to understand the person that was Merrin, the last daughter of Dathomir. With every interaction, every question asked, each word spoken, and ever unneeded movement. 

At first she had seemed almost stoic and lacking in much emotion, cold even. Of course that assumption failed to last long, and Merrin’s stoic face revealed itself to a mask of sorts. A way to hide from the world what she was actually feeling, a way to appear as the strong ruler of Dathomir that she was. The mask was not only meant to trick others, but in some way trick Merrin as well. 

If one could convince themselves, then surely they could trick the world, right? Such thoughts rarely stayed strong when put up against a magnifying glass. Sure, her mask had convinced the Nightbrothers, but they spent little time around the Nightsister, were trained from birth to be submissive and fearful of the Nightsisters, and truthfully Cal believed the Nightbrothers to be rather dim when it came to anything other than pure survival skills.

Her stoic cover had even tricked Cal for a time, but as he spent more and more time with the silver haired Nightsister he started to spot when the veil would be lifted for short moments. Cal had even learned to get Merrin to lift the mask herself on a few rare occasions. The Jedi hoped that meant she trusted him to some degree with her true self and emotions.

Cal trusted her with his. How could he not after that afternoon where she had held him as he mourned Master Tapal more than five years after the Lasat’s death. He had trusted her then, and he hoped that Merrin would also grow to trust him as well.

From what little he had seen from his brief peaks under Merrin’s mask, he had learned of the emotional person she really was. He had felt her worries, fears, and regrets. He has seen her at her most peaceful, and hoped to never see her at her most distraught. He has seen her at the pinnacle of fury, and wished to never be the cause of such anger. Cal has noticed her silently mourning her fallen sisters, as well as her lost love Ilyana. 

Cal saw all this hidden emotion, and wanted nothing else but to learn more, see more, to understand the amazing person that was Merrin.

And of course he was curious about her. She had saved the life of someone that was a member of the order that had ruined her life and bright future. Merrin had saved a Jedi from the brink of death when she had every right to leave Cal to his fate.

He had learned a considerable amount about Merrin, but Cal wasn’t satisfied with just that. He wanted to learn more about the last Nightsister, the last daughter of Dathomir. Not just more about her people's culture, or her world, but more about Merrin herself.

[Break]

Merrin had long tried to come to a conclusion on how to deal with her conflicted feelings when concerning the resident Jedi. Really it had been what had been occupying her mind the most since discovering that Cal Kestis, the Jedi, and the Light of Dathomir are one and the same. Her efforts and hours of meditation had yet to prove fruitful.

Her heart and emotions wanted nothing more than to preserve the light that had finally been found. To keep it from the world and those that would wish to harm it. To protect it above all else. To protect the Jedi, Cal Kestis, above all else.

But that was the problem.

Her unhealthy obsession that was the Light of Dathomir, because she would be fooling herself if she claimed it to be anything else but unhealthy, had turned out to be a Jedi of all things. Merrin had already known that fate was just as cruel as Dathomir, and this fate she had been dealt was only a reminder of that fact.

Though her heart and emotions wanted to protect the Light, her sister’s voices as well as her own logic wanted to kill this Jedi, Cal Kestis, without mercy. This left Merrin’s mind to organize and process it all.

Merrin knew that her fixation on the Light had long been an unhealthy obsession that would lead only to further pain. It had led her to pain, it had almost gotten herself killed at the hands of Gorgara. But it had also led her to temporary peace of mind, it still did. Every time she had, and still does, meditate she is calmed by sensing the presence of Cal Kestis nearby. When she would sleep in the same room as her Light, she would sleep nightmare free. Something that she had not experienced in years, and loathed the idea of giving up.

Perhaps if the Cal Kestis had matched her imagined image of what Merrin had expected from a Jedi warrior, then it would have been easier to forget her obsession and deal with him. But the red headed Jedi had turned out to be the most genuine and kind person that Merrin had ever known alongside Ilyana. Her life had only improved since he had come into her life. Besides, if Cal Kestis had actually matched what she had expected from a Jedi warrior, then Merrin would have been long dead, either by the hands of the Jedi at the temple or to Gorgara. 

Merrin also knew that the voices of her sister’s she would often hear deep within her mind were nothing but illusions, tricks of the planet or her own mind. Rationally she should disregard them. That still left her emotions and logic fighting one another. Fight over whether to protect or kill the young Jedi. Emotion had long been winning said fight, that was the only real reason Cal Kestis was still alive. Logic and her sister’s illusionary voices would never give up without some way to council them. That was the main issue and Merrin needed some way to do so, and she had yet to come up with a solution to calm them.

And at this moment there was something else occupying her mind that was preventing her from coming up with a solution to her mental and emotional turmoil concerning the Jedi’s place in her life. Said problem also concerned the Jedi, and once again it was also entirely Merrin’s fault.

After Cal Kestis had told Merrin about his deceased master, the Nightsister could no longer agnor the weight of the Jedi’s weapon on her belt, and she could not tolerate seeing the weapons within her line of sight. She rarely even wore it on her person any more, it's subtle weight only further turture to her mind. Merrin no longer viewed it as a trophy, but as a source of guilt and shame. She had stolen something precious from the red headed Jedi, and even though it had clearly broken his heart, he had let her steal it. 

Why? Because that was just the person he was. Not once since she had stolen it from him, had he requested she return it, nor had he directly mentioned the weapon. She knew he still thought of the weapon often. She could feel his eyes linger on the weapon, and see the distress in his eyes whenever he speaks of Jedi weaponry and weapon use. Whenever she would watch him practise his use of the Duskblade, it only reminded the Nightsister of that fight with Gorgara, where he had used the lightsaber. The beauty of that dancing blue blade had been lost to the Jedi, stolen from him. It was all Merrin’s doing.

Merrin had damaged Cal Kestis when she had refused him his master's lightsaber, and yet the Jedi did not hate her or blame her. She had wronged him. She must right this wrong. She will right this wrong.

[Break]

Cal always looked forward to his and Merrin’s daily routine of talking for hours, after finishing their midday meal. It was one of the few ways Cal could both learn more about Dathomirian culture and the planet Dathomir, but also learn more about Merrin the Nightsister herself. Learning about the wildlife, planets and their various uses. Cal had learned that Merrin preferred the taste of Veeka, the red feathered birds of Dathomir. He was even being taught the Dathomirian native language. He still wasn’t fluent, but he was getting there. 

He also enjoyed talking to Merrin about his own Jedi culture and beliefs, she seemed rather interested in the use of the force as well as how the Jedi keep their numbers up despite practising celibacy. But the subject that seemed to interest Merrin had nothing to do with the Jedi order, but rather the galaxy. The look of pure wonder, though subtle, that often graced Merrin’s face when Cal spoke of the vastness and diversity of the galaxy would warm the young Jedi’s heart, allowing him to forget the pains of his past. Cal hadn’t been this happy since his time with Master Tapal. Cal would fight Gorgara a thousand times for the Nightsister that had saved his life.

So when Merrin eats their midday meal in complete silence, it bothers and concerns the Jedi. The Nightsister never was the most talkative, but they still exchanged a few words over every meal. Furthermore, the deep contemplating look that Merrin had as she ate, was almost a concerning as the few quick nervous glances that she would shoot his way when she thought he wasn’t paying attention. 

He had first chalked it up to Merrin thinking about something that may have happened when she had visited the village earlier in the day. If she wanted to tell him or not, that was her choice, and he was comfortable with that.

When she started to drag him to Ilyana’s cliff right after finishing their meal, his concern for the silver haired Nightsister only grew in magnitude. She silently and swiftly led him to the cliff. 

So here the two were, sitting with their legs draped over the cliffs edge. Much like they would when they would come here to watch the sun of Dathomir set. But the sunset was still hours away and there was a tense awkwardness in the air, or at least Cal felt like there was. 

The two sat there for a few quiet minutes until Merrin spoke up. “Cal Kestsi.”

Though Cal had been expecting her to speak at some point, he hadn’t really readied himself and was thus startled by her break in the silence. “Yes?”

Cal noticed Merrin’s hesitation in speaking further, making his worry for the Nightsister rush itself back to the forefront of his mind.

“I know that telling me about your past and master was difficult and painful for you.” That was not what Cal had expected from the Nightsister. “I learned a great deal about you when you chose to entrust me with the memories, emotions, and knowledge. I wish to treat you in kind, to trust you with my memories of Ilyana” Merrin motioned to the burial pod that hung above them, Ilyana’s. Cal was surprised he had never been bothered with the idea that every time they had watched a sunset together they had done so while sitting under a literal bagged corpse. Even as he thought about it now, it still was far from bothering him. 

Cal was honored, even excited, that Merrin trusted him enough to want to share such a personal part of her past to him. Then a shred of doubt crept it's way into his mind. ‘Maybe she doesn’t trust me? She may be feeling obligated or guilty after I had shared my past with Master Tapal with her.’ 

“Are you sure? You don’t have to. I-I would understand if you didn-”

“Do you not want to… I am sorry. I had hoped you would be curious about me, just as I am curious about you.” Though her face did not betray it, Cal could hear in Merrin’s words the hurt that she was feeling.

He needed to fix this. Acting on impulse he took both her hands in his, though he had to admit that it looked rather awkward considering he only had one hand to hold her two hands. He only hoped the gesture would reassure the Nightsister. “I’m sorry. I would love to know more about you Merrin. I just wasn’t sure if you really wanted me to know. I didn’t want you to feel obligated to tell me just because I had told you about my past.”

It seems to do the trick, as Merrin’s soft brown eyes meet his own green eyes. She gives a confident nod. “Then I will tell you.”

So the last Nightsister began to speak of her life before the massacre of her sisters, and speak about her life with Ilyana. Cal listened with enraptured ears, and as he listened two main thoughts came to the forefront of his mind. First, how much Merrin most loved and cared for Ilyana, often referring to her as her “Lost Light”. Second, how his people, the Jedi, had taken that light that was Ilyana, away from Merrin; would have killed Merrin as well. 

Merrin’s face, which had sported a slight smile, had started to morph back into it's stoic mask as she began to speak of the massacre. Noticeably Merrin refrained from describing the coven’s attackers, and Cal was silently grateful to her for that. 

Merrin had long relieved the memories, seeing them every time she had fallen asleep before Cal Kestis had, quite literally, dropped into her life. She had long been broken by the memories to the point of numbing the emotions related to the memory. The only time that she had felt her emotions escape was when she started describing to Cal Kestis how she had found Ilyana’s body the morning after. She refrained from describing the state Ilyana’s body had been in.

Cal, hearing the trembling in the Nightsister’s voice, felt the brokenness of the Nightsister before him. Merrin had been the only survivor of genoicide, and had been left with the aftermath. Seeing the strong person that was Merrin the Nightsister, his friend, in such a state, even without the tears that Merrin still held in, was almost too much for the Jedi to take. He could feel only the surface of her pain through the force, but even that small amount was heartbreaking. Cal had only lost his master, Merrin had lost everyone. 

When Merrin finished her story, she turned to Cal and spoke. “Cal Kestis, I must apologize to you. I have hurt you deeply with a past action of mine.”

Merrin had just described the massacre of her people to him and she was apologizing to him? ‘Past actions?’ Was she referring to the Nightbrother hunting parties?

“Merrin, I don’t blame you for attac-”

“That is not of which I speak.”

Before Cal could ask about what she meant Merrin reaches behind her and unclips the lightsaber from her belt. Finally understanding begins to dawn on the Jedi. “I am returning what I have stolen from you. I am sorry I took your weapon from you. By taking it I had stolen your last connection to your old life. Please forgive me.”

Reaching out slowly to take the weapon, Cal felt whole again when, after spending too long as a broken man. She had returned to Cal his most important treasure. She could have kept it forever, and Cal would have let her, but instead she both gave it back and apologized for wronging him. “Thank you Merrin.”

The slight look of guilt, Merrin had, slowly shifted to a repressed smile. Looking down at the weapon that Cal wore on his own belt, Cal replaced the duskblade with the lightsaber. “I'm guessing you would like the Duskblade back, now that I have no need for it?”

As he started to hand over the blade, Merrin pushed it away. Cal looked at her, confused. “Keep it. I am no martial sister, and have little use for such a weapon.”

“But-”

“I insist.” The Nightsister’s tone and expression tell Cal that she would not be budging on the issue.

Looking down at the weapon, Cal took a moment trying to decide what to do or say. Thinking up an idea that he was satisfied with, he looked back into Merrin’s eyes. “I’ll hold on to it now, but at any time you want it back it's yours. Okay?”

A genuine smile graced the beautiful Nightsister at his words. “If that is what you wish. Now come, we have lost much time, and you have yet to become fluent in my tongue.” 

Cal’s only thoughts as the two left Ilyana’s cliffs were about how he would do almost anything for the last Nightsister, Merrin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: Chapter 10-Year 6 Part 2-Dependence
> 
> Chapter 10 should be out next Saturday. 
> 
> Is it just me or did this week feel like it lasted forever?


	10. Year 6 Part 2-Dependance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit on the shorter end, and is mostly a transition chapter to get us to next chapter.

“Cal Kestis, you must wake up.” a gentle voice spoke into the young Jedi’s ear. The Nightsisters voice along with the subtle tapping of her finger on his shoulder were the first sensations that Cal felt as he woke up. 

Opening his eyes he was met with Merrin looking down waiting for the Jedi to wake himself. “I’m up.” 

Merrin just nodded before turning away from Cal’s bed to start her day. 

Being woken up by the Nightsister was not a rare or unusual experience. The two tend to wake up around the same time, and whomever happens to be the first up will usually wake the other up to start the day. Today it just happened to be Merrin that had been the first to wake up.

Removing the thin fabric cover that Cal used as a blanket, he roused himself from his wooden frame and hide made bed. Cal rubbed his blurry eyes as they adjusted to the light of the newly lit oil sconces.

As his eyes adjusted Cal’s gaze passed over Merrin’s own bed. Unlike Cal’s bed, which was of crude Nightbrother make, Merrin’s was of Nightsister make, with a beautiful dark metal frame and a soft looking mattress. What kind of metal the frame was made of was the same metal that all Dathomirian weapons were made of. What the mattress or sheets were made of, Cal had no idea. Something to ask Merrin about later perhaps.

A slight glint above Merrin’s bed caught the attention of Cal’s eyes. Merrin’s golden necklace was hanging off one of the bed’s posts. That was rather unusual, as the Nightsister seemed to never go anywhere without it. 

‘Merrin must have forgotten it.’

Going to retrieve the necklace with planes to return it to the Nightsister. The red headed Jedi was too swift in retrieving the article of jewelry that he failed to notice the echo emanating off it's gold surface. 

Cal’s senses were forced into the body of another, a younger Merrin from what he could understand. The young Merrin was sitting atop a large gravethorn, in the middle of a forest of smaller gravethorn trees. She seemed to be watching the sunset while atop the tree.

“Sister Merrin.” An unknown voice spoke, right next to the young Nightsister’s ear.

Merrin turned her head to view the speaker. Cal, through the young Merrin’s eyes, saw another young Nightsister, maybe a year or two older than the young Merrin. This other Nightsister’s eyes were a soft red, not unlike the red skies of Dathomir. Her hair, unlike Merrin’s silver, was an obsidian black that was fashioned in a similar fashion to how older Merrin wore her hair. Only then did Cal notice that younger Merrin’s hair was down, and draped over her right shoulder. 

The other Nightsister had the same ghostly gray skin as Merrin. Her tattoos ran across her face in intricate horizontal lines that seemed to be designed to bring attention to the Nightsister’s eyes. 

“Yes sister Ilyana?” The younger Merrin’s voice was both familiar yet foreign to the Jedi’s ears. It didn’t have the same authority, nor age to it, But it was still undoubtedly Merrin. 

Ilyana locked eyes with the young Merrin, giving her a bright smile that almost looked out of place on a dark planet such as Dathomir. “I understand that you have brewed the water of life today, after gathering the ingredients.”

Merrin nodded at this, unconsciously bringing her hand up to brush a hidden scar she had gotten while gathering the most difficult ingredient she acquired from a creature known as the Sleeper. The fight for the most important ingredient for the potion had been the most dangerous thing the young Nightsister had ever done. Many Nightsisters had lost their lives attempting to best The Sleeper. 

“I have a gift for you then.” Ilyana spoke, reaching a hand behind her, out of sight.

“But why? When you had done the same only a year ago, I had no gift to give you then.”

“Because I want to give you a gift, and crafting the Water of Life is just the excuse needed.” If Ilyana’s smile grew any more, it would split her face in half.

“You do not ne-”

“I want to. Would you refuse the gift that I have crafted for you?” Ilyana’s smile was gone, replaced with a playful pout. Cal would not have expected to see such an expression on a Nightsister, considering all Cal has learned about them from Merrin, but he can’t deny that it fits Ilyana rather well.

Merrin responds with a tired sigh before shaking her head. 

Clearly pleased, Ilyana retrieves the hand that she had hidden behind her back, held gently within it's grasps was a familiar piece of gold jewelry. As the young Merrin’s hand reached out to take the gold necklace the echo faded. Cal’s senses were returned to his body.

“What is it that is making you take so long?” Merrin’s confused voice sounded from behind, startling the Jedi. Turning, Cal saw Merrin looking at him with a look of confusion that had matched her tone. 

Bringing the Nightsister’s gold necklace into view, “This necklace… Ilyana gave it to you.”

The Nightsister’s confusion quickly morphed into a look of shock or surprise. Though Merrin elected not to speak, either due to the shock the Jedi’s statement sent her into, or she was waiting for Cal to continue. 

“Sorry…” Cal paused, scratching the back of his neck nervously, “I have this force ability that lets me see past events of items I come into contact with. I can’t really control what items it affects, or what I am shown.” Another pause, “I honestly have no control over it.”

Merrin’s bewilderment was back, though more subtle. “How does this Jedi magick work?”

‘How to explain?’ “Some things; People, events, or experiences leave an echo in the Force that I can connect to. I feel an object's history, or at least a small portion of it.”

“You can read the past? Can all Jedi do this?”

“No, it's rather rare actually. You have to be born with it, or develop the ability naturally. It can’t be trained. I know of only one other person that had psychometry, can’t remember the name though.”

“Such abilities are unheard of with Nightsister magick.” 

“Well, invisibility and teleportation are unheard of in Jedi force use.” Cal jokes as he hands Merrin her necklace.

Merrin dawns the jewelry before speaking, “What of raising the undead?”

“What!?”

“Should I take that as a no?” Merrin gives a coy smile, clearly amused with the red head's reaction.

“Yes!... I mean no, we can’t raise the undead… Can Nightsister magick raise the dead?”

“The undead, yes. Though it is a rare ability, it is indeed possible. I myself I’m capable of such a feat.” Merrin confirms, her words laced with pride.

To say Cal was shocked would be an understatement. He was aware that Merrin’s magick was sourced from the Force, in particular the dark side of the Force. Cal also knew that what Nightsister magick was capable of differed greatly from what Jedi abilities could accomplish, but he never could have imagined the ability to raise the undead. The concept of the undead was exclusively found in books, holovids, or local superstition that never amounted to anything. Or that's at least what Cal had thought until now.

Merrin could tell Cal Kestis was bothered with this newfound knowledge. His green eyes were unable to meet hers. 

“Does this knowledge bother you?” Though Merrin’s face was stoic, the slight tremble in her words betrayed her.

“N-no.” Cal panicked, trying to reassure his friend. Though the look Merrin leveled at him showed her doubt in his words. “I’d say it's more culture shock to be honest. Like using your powers raising the undead, how you mummified my hand, or hanging your dead up in burial pods. To a Jedi that would be considered rather odd to say the least. We don’t really treat the dead that way.”

“Then how does a Jedi treat their dead?”

“We burn the bodies on a pyre. When Master Tapal died, I built him a wood pyre and burned his body, though it was rather difficult to gather the gravethorn wood.”

“Well I find that rather odd. Burning the bodies of those that you cared for, seems rather mean spirited.”

Cal supposed that when put like that by someone who comes from a completely different culture than his own, it does sound rather odd. His people practised having no attachments, and burning the dead is symbolic of that in a sense. For Nightsisters the whole culture is based off attachments, the whole coven is a community, even sisters long dead are considered as still part of the coven. 

Another one of Merrin’s questions pulls Cal’s mind back to reality. “If you were to die, would you want me to burn your body?”

For some odd reason, that one simple question gets a laugh out of Cal, he has no idea why though. “Let's hope that doesn't happen, but sure.” Cal pauses, not sure if he should ask his question. “If you were to die, how would you want me to…” He stops his question mid sentence once he sees the face his question elicits from the Nightsister. A deep sadness radiates from the Nightsister. 

“I do not know. A fellow sister must be the one to perform the rights of burial. As I am the last, there is no one that can perform such rights.” She speaks in almost a whisper. “I buried all my sisters, gave them their rights. I will not have such an honor.”

This new knowledge along with clear distress from the Nightsister weighs heavily on the young Jedi. He had learned that death was an important part of Nightsister culture, as Cal had asked about the subject before. He knew that without the proper burial rights, it was believed a Nightsister wouldn’t be able to join her fellow sisters in the afterlife. In essence Merrin believed she would be forever separated from her people and loved ones, even after death. The Jedi, his people, had done this to her. Doomed his friend to a lonely existence both in life and afterwards. Yet Merrin still tolerated his presence. Cal wished that, somehow, he could be the person to fix this, to reassure Merrin, to be there for her. But Cal knew that he couldn’t do that, he never would be able to. He was a Jedi, among the greatest warriors and peacekeepers in the galaxy, with supernatural powers that could manipulate time and space, but he was useless when it came to helping his friend. 

[Break]

Cal was having conflicted thoughts and feelings concerning the resident Nightsister. Merrin, the last Nightsister, daughter of Dathomir, the ruler of Dathomir. Merrin was a lot of things, but to Cal she was first and foremost his friend, as well as the person that saved his life in more than one way. 

Now the young Jedi wasn’t conflicted over the knowledge that Merrin had been the one responsible for the Nightbrother patrols that had hunted him in the past. Cal had known that the Nightsister had been responsible for the Nightbrother activity even before he had fought Gorgara. He never really could find it in himself to blame Merrin, especially not after she had healed his injuries, saving his life. 

Nor did he judge the Nightsister for trying to kill him on two separate occasions. At the time to Merrin he was just an enemy that was trespassing on Dathomir for a reason unknown to her. Merrin’s reaction was not that unreasonable in his eyes.

What the young orange headed Jedi was conflicted about were the feelings he was rapidly developing for his friend. Now having friends was not necessarily frowned upon by the Jedi order. Developing friendships was technically against the Order’s rule against developing attachments, it was well known that the many Jedi developed friendships with both their fellow Jedi as well as the people or druids they worked with. Only the most staunch traditionalists frowned upon such friendships. The Jedi council never intervene unless your friendships get in the way of Jedi Order duties or noticeably turn said Jedi down the wrong path. Cal was by no means worried about having found a friend in Merrin the Nightsister. He had had many friends, both with clones aboard the Albedo Brave, as well as his fellow younglings at the Jedi temple. Healthy passive friendships were fine.

But what Cal was starting to feel for the silver haired Nightsister was far past simple fellowship or camaraderie. To be honest, he hadn’t just started feeling this way either. He had developed the feelings a while ago, but he either had failed to see them for what they were or he had chosen to ignore the developed feelings. Continuing to ignore them would hardly help, so Cal knew he had to be honest with himself. He was falling, had fallen, for his friend Merrin. 

The first signs were during his fight with Elsal. The rage he had felt when the pink Nightbrother had looked at Merrin with indecent eyes. At the time he had told himself the rage was due to Elsal looking at his friend and savior like that. Now Cal knew better, he was jealous and being protective. Another sign was when the spark Cal had felt when he had taken Merrin’s hands in his own back at Ilyana’s cliff before Merrin had shared with him her past. Yes, he had been trying to comfort and reassure the Nightsister, but he couldn’t lie to himself and claim that had been all there was to it. The thing that had triggered his realization had been the thought ‘I would do almost anything for Merrin’ after she had returned his master’s lightsaber. After that thought Cal had finally started to put together the pieces and really understand the emotions he was feeling for the Nightsister.

Cal had fallen for the last daughter of Dathomir, and boy had he fallen hard.

When Cal had first had time to process this revelation he had first blamed his new found feelings for the Nightsister on the fact that he was a young adult that hadn’t interacted with anyone of the opposite sex near his age since he was a youngling at the Jedi Temple. That train of thought had quickly been thrown to the side. Thinking in that way, blaming his feelings for the beautiful Nightsister on poor circumstance was an insult to both Merrin and himself. It made it seem like Merrin had no qualities that could warrant feelings under normal circumstances, and it painted Cal as nothing more than a hormonal teenage boy.

Yes, Cal was physically attracted to Merrin, and that was a problem, but physical attraction was only a small mostly insignificant part of the problematic equation. He had fallen for Merrin because she was the best thing to happen in his life since he had been stranded on Dathomir. She had saved his life, and given him a new life to live shortly after; a foundation to support his crumbling life. She understood his grief of losing everything, and felt it further than he ever could. Yes Cal had lost his master, but his people still persisted and he had somewhere to go to if he ever left Dathomir, she didn’t. Merrin was kind enough to care for Cal, even after all that the Jedi Order had done to her life. She was quite possibly the most beautiful person Cal had ever known, and she moved with a force given grace. She often spoke with a determination and confidence that Cal wished he could. Merrin was a strong, kind, beautiful, confident, and deep individual. There was little doubt or wonder as to why Cal had fallen in love with her after only knowing the Nightsister for a little under a year.

Sadly, Cal knew it would never be, nor ever could be; a Nightsister and a Jedi. 

Attachments of love were strictly forbidden among the Jedi Order, and for a good reason. Trained Force sensitives that fall in love are at a great risk of relying on their emotions and succumbing to the dark side. Strong, powerful emotions like love and everything that came with it could corrupt even the greatest of Jedi masters, Cal had been taught. The Lightside relied on focus, claerity, and willpower. The dark side was pure raw emotion.

His feelings could never be acted upon for that reason. Not that Merrin would ever accept his feelings in the first place. The Jedi Order had ruined her life by murdering her people, and killing the one person Merrin had actually loved. The only reason Merrin had let Cal live and stay here was out of the kindness of her own heart. Yes the two of them got along and had developed a friendship that Cal cherished, but that was all it could or would ever be; a friendship and nothing more. 

Cal Kestis the Jedi and Merrin the Nightsister. He was a Jedi that was strictly forbidden from falling in love. And she was a Nightsister that could never love a Jedi. He wished the acknowledgement of that didn’t break his heart.

[Break]

Merrin knew that she had developed a dependence on the Light of Dathomir almost immediately after it had appeared during meditation years ago. Since then she had become addicted to meditation just for the chance of viewing the Light. The Nightsister was completely aware that such dependency and addiction was entirely unhealthy for her psyche. But what was she supposed to do? She had been a teenager without anyone to support her, comfort her, or understand her. She had lost everything and was left to both bury everything and everyone she had loved and cared for, and then rule a planet of strangers. The Light had been the only thing that could calm and patch back together the broken mind of the Nightsister. 

But after discovering that the Light of Dathomir, her Light, had been the Jedi, and after spending much time with the emerald eyed Jedi the dependence changed; morphed, and took a new form. Or at least it felt different to Merrin. Her previous dependence had been completely devoid of any thoughts of the Jedi. In fact, the Jedi and the Light had been mutually exclusive within her mind and thoughts. When she would think of the Light, the Jedi was forgotten, and when she thought of the Jedi, the Light was forgotten. When the Light would come to her mind she would picture the bright presence that she felt in meditation, the very image in her mind would calm her for a moment.

But all that has changed. 

Now whenever she thought of the Light, the Jedi would come to mind, and any thoughts of the Jedi would bring with it thoughts of the Light. Whenever she imagined the Light, it was no longer the bright light that would be seen, but instead the bright honest smile, friendly green eyes, and warm red hair of the Jedi would be imaged instead. Now instead of the Light bringing her to a calm, it also brought with it a warmth that Merrin had only ever felt for Ilyana. 

It made sense, really. After all, the Jedi and the Light were one and the same, and therefore should be related together in her mind. 

When Merrin had depended on the Light before learning about it's true nature, and getting to know Cal Kestis, she had been content with the Light far from her. As long as she could still feel its presence in meditation she was content. 

That was no longer an option in her eyes. She needed the Light near, needed him near.

The mere thought that Cal Kestis, her Light, leaving terrifies the Nightsister. After living with the Jedi for not insignificant amount of time, she could hardly imagine a life without him. When she slept with him near she would sleep soundly, safe from nightmares; something that had not happened since the death of Ilyana and her coven.

Merrin had insisted that Cal Kestis sleep in the same room as her, despite there being plenty of other unused rooms available. The Jedi was completely unaware of her reason for insisting upon such a sleeping arrangement, and had at first refused. In the end he had budged before she had. Even if he had not, she would have forced the arrangement by either destroying the other available rooms, or teleporting his bed into her room after he would fall asleep. Luckily such drastic measures went unneeded.

With him around, she found herself more driven to actually take to her role as the ruler over the Nightbrothers. She thought less of the nightmarish past, and more of her happy present and possibly promising future. Merrin had lost her dependence for the Light, and gained an even stronger dependence for a Jedi. How mother and her sisters must be swinging in their burial pods right now.

She knew they were, she could hear their voices challenge her choices and state of mind. They were easy enough to ignore and hardly registered within her thoughts anymore. They were not even her sisters' true voices or thoughts. The Nightsister knew the voices for what they were, the twisted will of the planet. Merrin had more pressing matters than playing into the unknown plans of Dathomir. Like figuring out how to insure her Lights continued close presence in her life.

If Cal Kestis decided on leaving, that would rob Merrin of her light and leave her shattered, she was sure. After losing everything she cherished once before, Merrin should have been desensitized to such loss; but instead she had only grown more fragile to it. The loss of her love and coven had broken her like a hammer to a mirror. The only thing keeping the mirror together was it's frame. Somehow the Light had become that frame. If she were to lose what little she had now, then there would be nothing from keeping her from shattering, never to be put back together. 

Merrin had tried coming up with some kind of plan or idea to keep such an outcome from coming to fruition for some time. And come up with a plan she has. If this plan were to work it very much could keep her Light from leaving, stop the pestering of her sisters voices in her head, and could even start something more.

[Break]

Cal had dropped his training with the duskblade after his master’s lightsaber had been returned to him by Merrin. Now he once again trained with the traditional weapon of the Jedi Order. The practise with the lightsaber wasn’t all that different from what he had done with the duskblade. The only real difference, besides the material limitations of the duskblade, was the actual feeling the weapon gave him. When he held the duskblade, Cal felt like a warrior sure, but when he held a lightsaber he felt like a Jedi warrior. A big difference, just ask any B1 battle droid scrap pile. Having the weapon, practising with the weapon, made Cal feel like a Jedi again.

Cal had just finished up with another morning's weapon practise when he sighted Merrin returning from another visit down to the Nightbrother village. It didn’t take the Jedi long to understand something was off, different. As Merrin’s usual expression of confident stoicism was replaced by a more determined expression. Also Merrin was directly looking at the Jedi as she approached. Her destination was him, rather than to the house. 

She stopped her approach a few meters short from the sweating Jedi warrior. “Cal Kestis, I believe it is time you become a Dathomirian.”

“But I’m human? I can’t be made into a Dathomirian.” 

She gives him a look that makes Cal feel a little silly about his response, though he doesn't particularly know why.

“You misunderstand. Making you a Dathomirian means to make you a member of the community in a sense. You will not become of Dathomirian blood, but you will be Dathomirian.”

“Oh.” That makes more sense. “How does one become a member of the Dathomirian community?” Cal wasn’t even sure if he wanted to become a ‘Dathomirian’, but all thoughts of refusing vanishes when he looks into the determined eyes of the Nightsister. ‘You’d do almost anything for her.’

“An old tradition when the Dathomirian people were first becoming their own. On rare occasions an outsider would want to become a member of the coven and become a Nightsister. While you are unable to be a Nightsister, we can still follow this tradition to make you a Dathomirian in the eyes of the Nightbrothers, myself, and the ancestors.”

“What does this tradition intel?”

Merrin looks pleased with his question for a brief moment before her stoic gaze returns. “First you require a sponsor, that will be me. Next you must hunt a great Dathomirian beast and have an article of clothing or trophy made from the beast’s remains. Gorgara or the Alpha Nydak both would have been sufficient, but their remains are lost to use, so another hunt is needed.” 

Another beast to kill,‘What is the worst that can happen?’,“Okay then what am I hunting?” Not to boast, but Cal was rather confident in his monster hunting abilities.

“A herd of Rancor has been sighted near the edge of the eastern swamp, in the flatlands. That will be our quarry for your hunt.” ‘That's the worst that can happen.’

“C-can we not just hunt a Nydak, or something else?”

The unconcerned Nightsister pauses as if to think before shaking her head. “The average Nydak, though powerful, is not considered a great Dathomirian beast, and you have already slain this generation's Alpha Nydak. Gorgara is also slain, and all the other Chirodactyl had been chased off long ago. We are not close to any of Dathomir’s oceans or deserts, meaning slaying a Greater Serpent of the Red Seas, or a Dathomirian Dragon Worm are not ideal options.” Cal never wants to know what a ‘Great Serpent of the Red Sea’ or a ‘Dathomirian Dragon Worm’ are.

“Is everything on Dathomir terrifying?”

Merrin gives him a smirk. Cal had long told her that Dathomir was much deadlier than the average habitable planet in the galaxy. Surprisingly Merrin had taken such knowledge as a point of pride. “Yes.” She replied smoothly before continuing, “Do not worry Cal Kestis. I have complete confidence in your combat ability, and I will be there to assist with your hunt.”

‘Sigh’ He wasn’t getting out of this, was he? “Thanks Merrin. When are we leaving?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: Chapter 11-Year 6 Part 3-Heat of the Moment
> 
> Cal finally realizes, and Merrin kinda realizes.


	11. Year 6 Part 3-Heat of the Moment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look a new chapter! Yay! Gotta be honest, I absolutely loved writing the later half of this chapter.

The Jedi and Nightsister pair set out for their hunt the next morning. Bringing with them only the bare minimum needed for survival on Dathomir; namely waterskins and Cal’s weapon. The two would hunt for their food and Merrin had little need for a weapon to defend herself, choosing to rely on her magick instead. According to the Nightsister, the travel through the swampland to the eastern flatlands would take two days of travel on foot. It would take an untold number of days to track down the Rancor herd that had been sighted, and isolate one of their numbers to hunt. They would have to ensure that they didn’t catch the eye of the whole herd, doing so would be paramount to a death sentence, or at least a failure in the hunt.

The travel was so far uneventful, or at least as uneventful as travel across Dathomir swampland could be. A few times the two would be forced to fend off local wildlife or use Merrin’s magick to teleport past obstacles like quicksand or Bane Back Spider nests.

Outside of the occasional interruption the swampland, like the whole of the wilds of Dathomir, was dead silent. Or at least it would be if it weren't for the traveling pair breaking that silence. Cal and Merrin filled the hours of travel with idol conversation. Most of it consisted of the Nightsister quizzing the young Jedi on his knowledge of the Dathomirian language. Cal had gotten rather skilled in the language, and according to Merrin, he was practically fluent, able to hold simple conversations. Now whenever teaching the Jedi, Merrin spoke exclusively in Dathomirian, and expects the same of Cal. 

On occasion though the two would drop the language lessons. Often to just enjoy the shared comfortable silence between them, or to talk about random subjects. During one of these idol conversations Cal decided he would probably do well in asking more about the purposes for this hunt, and what exactly ‘becoming Dathomirian’ ment.

“So when I finish this trial or hunt, I'll basically be a Nightbrother?”

Merrin’s reaction to this question hadn’t been what Cal would have expected. She makes a noticeable face of disgust. Why, he wasn’t really sure. “No, you will not. There is a different tradition the Nightbrothers perform for one to become a Nightbrother. I assume you have noticed the tattoos that all Dathomirians wear?”

Hard not to notice. “Yes.”

“When a Nightbrother becomes of hunting age they are inspected by the elders of the village. If the elders find them acceptable then they are assigned to a hunting party. Once they return from a successful hunt they are then given their first tattoos. They gain more and more tattoos as they perform more feats in combat or during hunts. If you wished to become a Nightbrother, this is the tradition you would be expected to perform.”

“If I'm not going to become a Nightbrother then what am I going to be after this hunt?” Cal was rather confused. Males Dathomirian are Nightbrothers and females are Nightsisters, right?

“The tradition we are currently partaking in was usually performed to allow outsiders to join a coven as a full fledged Nightsister. Of course the outsiders would have almost exclusively been female. I am just taking this tradition and applying it to a male. You won’t be a Nightsister, but you will be akin to a Nightsister, or at least greater than a Nightbrother.” Merrin clarifies. 

A pregnant pause, amplified by the silence of the planet.

“Will I have to get tattoos?”

Another pause before a delighted laugh rang out from the Nightsister. “No, I won’t require you to get tattoos. I quite like your pale skin, and I do not think gray tattoos would complement it. I much prefer your small red dots instead.”

“Red dot? Do you mean my freckles?” Cal asked, inspecting his body, half expecting large red dots to appear all over his body, as if he had missed them the last 20 years of his life. Needless to say, no such dots are seen.

“If this word ‘freckles’ refers to the spots found on your face and shoulders then yes. I think I like these freckles of yours. They match your hair rather nicely. Tell me, do all humans have these freckles?” Cal couldn’t help but feel a bit self conscious as the Nightsister seemingly inspected his body as they walked.

“No, but it's not uncommon either, but most humans with red hair tend to have freckles.”

“How common is this red hair of yours among humans” Merrin’s eyes changed their attention to the top of Cal’s head. 

“Most humans have black, brown, or blond hair. Red hair is far from common.”

“So you are rather unique then.” Merrin toyed with her hair.“What of silver hair like mine?” 

“Humans don’t naturally have silver hair, but when humans grow old or sometimes when they live high stress lives there hair will slowly turn white or silver.”

“Does my hair make me appear old?” Merrin’s voice was calm and steady as she asked the question, her face stoic, giving nothing away. Cal wasn’t sure if that was a good sign or not.

“N-no far from it. I think your silver hair looks great, amazing really.” Cal panically responded, not wanting to hurt or offend his friend. 

Merrin for her part gave Cal a playful smirk as she responded. “I am well aware. Thank you. I think the same of your hair.” Merrin reached out a comed her hand through his locks, before retracting her hand back to her side.

The intimate gesture took the young Jedi by surprise, but he couldn’t deny he enjoyed touch. Cal brought his own hand up to comb his red hair, wishing to recreate the feeling of the Nightsisters fingers brushing against his scalp, to no avail. 

It was only after Merrin asked “Are you coming, Cal Kestis?” in Dathomirian from further ahead, did Cal realize that he had stopped walking.

“Sorry, I-I’m coming.”

“In Dathomirian.” She chastises him.

Cal repeats himself, this time in Dathomirian, to the best of his ability. Merrin nodes in response, seemingly satisfied, before she continues their travel. Cal picks up his pace to catch up to the Nightsister.

‘She’s going to be the death of me.’

[Break]

It had actually taken them a little over two days to reach the eastern flatlands, a little longer than they had expected. Still a far cry from the months it had taken for Cal to travel from the northern ends of the swampland to the mountain several years ago. According to Merrin the mountain was much closer to the eastern edge of the swamps than the northern edge, and the southern edge would take a year or so of travel on foot to reach. 

Once they had reached the flatlands finding the Rancor herd had been much easier than Cal had expected. Somehow through meditation Merrin was able to sense the living creatures of Dathomir. Using this ability allowed the two to swiftly pinpoint the herds location and movement, allowing the two to catch up to it.

Catching up to the moving herd had taken most of the third day. By the time they had sighted the herd it was time to start setting up camp for the night.

Cal had at first been concerned with the idea of setting up camp right next to a herd of two dozen giant monsters with little cover to be seen. Merrin had tried to assure him that she would cast a spell that would hide their presence from the beasts overnight. While he trusted the Nightsister, he did not trust the planet or anything else on it, and still insisted that they set up a watch duty. Cal would take the first watch and Merrin would take the second. Luckily the night passed without any incidents. 

The pair spent the first few hours of the day shadowing the rancor herd as it traveled across the flatlands. The two used this time to observe the herd and to try and pick out a few likely targets. 

Rancor herds can range from a dozen members to up to three dozen members. Female rancors are considerably larger than their male counterparts. Herds are usually led by the largest female known as the matriarch.

This herd had a little over two dozen members, a dozen of which were adults. Merrin had made it clear that while any adult rancor would be sufficient, that it would be preferable to target either a female without any young or the herd matriarch. 

After observing it seemed that only two of the adults were preferable targets. The matriarch of the herd, as well as the oldest female that was too old to have pups. Merrin guessed that it was most likely that the old female had mothered most of the herd's adults. Despite the age of the female it was rather clear that she was only second to the matriarch in both size and strength. 

Now that they had two potential targets all they had to do is either wait for one of them to separate themselves from the herd, or to lore one of them away. Tricking the matriarch to leave the herd for a time would be rather difficult as the rest of the rancor would just end up following her. So it was probably preferable to focus their efforts on the older female. 

Their opportunity came on their second day following the herd, their fifth day away from the mountain. The elder female had made her way to the back of the herd and was a considerable distance from the other rancors. 

Cal first used his Force stasis ability to slow the movement of the targeted rancor and grow the distance between it and the rest of the herd. After the stasis ended Cal made his presence known by throwing his lightsaber, causing superficial damage at best, while yelling and shouting at it. While Cal did this, Merrin used magic to stop the rest of the rancors from noticing the eldest rancor’s roars of battle. 

Merrin wasn’t allowed to help him directly in the fight, and could only assist the Jedi in smaller indirect ways, otherwise the hunt would be considered invalidated. The Nightsister did cast some magical protection on him, but that was the most she could do. 

Cal charged at the enraged beast hopping to get the battle over before the rancor could retaliate. The great Dathomirian beast swiped at Cal just as he had entered within range of it's claws. Without missing a beat, he jumped over the weaponized appendage. While in mid air Cal slashed downwards at the clawed hand, cutting a deep burn through the hide into muscle. 

The elder beast hardly reacted to it's new burning wound, and swung it's other clawed hand to hit the Jedi before he could hit the ground. The attack connected with a meaty ‘thunk’, batting the Jedi to the side easily.

“Cal!” Merrin’s voice rang out, concern clear. If it wasn’t for him flying through the air after having all the air knocked out of him, he might have noticed that it was the first time Merrin had used the shortened version of his name. 

If it wasn’t for the magical protection, the rancor’s claws would have cut clean through the Jedi. Cal landed on his feet, though a little winded and with a few new broken and/or cracked ribs. 

“I’m alright… I thi-” The furious roar beast interrupted him, probably angry that Cal was mostly unharmed from it's attack.

Surprising both the Jedi and Nightsister, the elder rancor began to sprint away from Cal, seemingly running away from him. The surprise was short lived, as soon the creature turned back towards Cal and charged him. Seems the beast only wanted the distance for a charge at full speed. As the creature neared it brought up both of it's clawed hands, reading them for attack. Cal readied himself to greet the charge of the beast, having some idea of how to deal with the monster. 

Just before the creature made it within it's striking distance of the Jedi, it brought it's injured arm down to claw at the ground directly in front of Cal. Dry dirt, plant matter, and rocks flew into the air towards the Jedi. At the same time the Rancor brought it's other hand down to cut the Jedi in two. He jumped backwards thankfully avoiding most of the larger pieces of dirt and rock, and narrowly avoiding the strike that had been obscured by the flying debris. 

Needing little time to recover, Cal charged under the rancor’s feet. Cutting at the creature's stomach before making his way under and behind the beast. The beast was thrown off balance by it's overextended attack, and was slow to recover due to the pain of a new wound. This made it considerably easy for Cal to topple the poor creature over with a powerful Force push from behind. 

As the beast's body hit the dirt underneath it, Cal wasted little time jumping atop it's back. Running across it's back to the rancor’s head, Cal plunged his weapon deep into it's skull. The giant beast’s struggles ceased immediately, it's body going limp. 

The hunt had been a success. 

[Break]

After Cal Kestis had felled the mighty rancor, Merrin wasted little time fretting over the Jedi’s injuries he sustained in the hunt. Luckily and thanks to the spell she had cast on his body before the combat, Cal had walked away from the fight with little more than a few cracked ribs, and minor bruising of the skin and a few more ribs. Painful injuries, but nothing Merrin couldn’t heal quickly, or atleast patch up.

After ensuring her Jedi’s health Merrin got to work cutting a large portion of the dead beasts hide for use in crafting the trophy she would make for Cal. 

Rancor hide was made up of two main layers. The outer layer is thin, tough, and flexible; perfect for crafting. Or at least it would be if it didn’t become rigged, flimsy, and mostly useless shortly after the creature’s death. The second layer was thicker, and when processed with Nightsister magick, becomes a beautiful, sturdy, and flexible leather that can even offer considerable protection from blaster fire. Merrin’s own robes were partially made from rancor hide.

It was only fitting that Cal Kestis’ trophy would be made of such a valuable and useful material. A trophy that offered no practical use would be unfitting for a person such as Cal Kestis. 

The travel back to their mountain took over four days due to Cal’s injuries as well as the large bundle of rancor hide that they were bringing back. 

When Cal Kestis had asked what the trophy would be Merrin declined to answer, wishing to make it a surprise. The making of the trophy was to be her task and would remain secret until it's crafting was complete. That did not stop him from trying to guess what the hide would be made into. Most of his ideas were rather unique and completely wrong. The closest he got was guessing a blanket. After she had pointed out that no one would make a blanket out of leather or furless hide, he stopped guessing. 

When they had finally made their return to the mountain Merrin immediately set to her task of creating the trophy, after checking in on the Nightbrother village and making sure nothing had gone amiss while she had been away. .

[Break]

Merrin was fully aware of what the Jedi felt for her. Had full knowledge that Cal Kestis found her physically attractive, enjoyed her company, and had grown a dependence for her presence much like the one she had for him and the Light that was a part of him. The Nightsister had known for months. 

She knew he was physically attracted to her because Merrin could see it in his eyes. The subtle perverse glances that he would subconsciously shoot her way, raking his eyes across her body; taking in every detail. She recognized such glances for what they were because they were reminiscent of the gazes that the Nightbrothers had given her when Merrin had just come of age and had been without a mate. Unlike the gazes of the Nightbrothers, which had only disgusted the Nightsister, Merrin only felt joy and pride in herself when Cal Kestis did so. She relished under the gaze of those emerald green eyes of his. Merrin did not believe that Cal Kestis was conscious of his wandering eyes when it occurred. Whenever he had caught himself in the act he would always become flustered and ashamed. Even though Merrin had never actually called him out on such acts, nor did she make him aware that she had caught him on many occasions.

Merrin also knew that her Jedi enjoyed her company because he told her so. Cal Kestis would tell her almost daily how much he enjoyed spending time with her. He would also seek to spend any free time he had with her. Something that she would never complain about, as she too liked spending time with him.

Lastly Merrin knew that Cal Kestis had grown an attachment, a dependence, for her presence, much like she had for his presence in her life. The Nightsister could see it in his honest eyes and smile, hear it in every word he spoke to her, feel it in every unintended and intended touch and kind gesture, every blush of his cheeks, sense it during every shared meditation. It was as if every part of Cal Kestis was unknowingly screaming his affections for her.

It also made sense as well. Merrin was the only friendly face that Cal had seen in more than five years. They saved each other’s lives. The two of them even shared similar pains of losing everything all at once.

Merrin trusted Cal Kestis, and she knew that he trusted her as well. 

Merrin had only one true fear that remained between them; that the Jedi might one day leave her and take her Light with him. She knew that if given the chance to leave Dathomir Cal Kestis would take it. If one day another Jedi appeared to retrieve the red headed Jedi their order had forgotten there would be little doubt that Cal Kestis would go. He may have grown unquestionably attached to the Nightsister, but he was still very much committed to the Jedi Order and would rejoin his people if given the chance. 

Cal Kestis would not be leaving her out of cruelty or malaise towards the Nightsister. He would probably hesitate for some time, but in the end he would go, leaving Merrin alone and broken. She would not blame him for it. She too would do anything to be able to have her sisters returned to her.

While Merrin could not blame him, she could attempt to prevent such an outcome; prevent him from leaving her.

In pursuit of this goal Merrin had come up with a plan to insure the Light and the Jedi stayed with her forever. First she had proposed the idea of Cal Kestis becoming a Dathomirian, as close as he could be to becoming a Nightsister. By insisting he perform the trial hunt that outsiders would perform to become a Nightsister. Cal Kestis being male stopped him from being a true Nightsister, but he could still become something close. 

The Nightsister had guessed that Cal Kestis would not refuse such a proposal if it came from her, and she had been right. Luckily the hunt had been a resounding success, and Cal would soon have his trophy that would act as acknowledgment that he was now Dathomirian.

Making him a Dathomirian was only the first part of her plan, as it was almost certain that Cal Kestis would see himself as a Jedi before seeing himself as a Dathomirian or resident of Dathomir.

She needed the young Jedi to grow an attachment stronger than the one he had with his old order. A difficult task, but by no means impossible for the Nightsister to accomplish. 

The second part of her plan would accomplish this task, while also allowing her to actually claim Cal Kestis, and indulge in her attachment to him.

If all went as planned than Cal Kestis would be forever hers, and never leave her. She could begin to rebuild her lost coven. She could keep the Light for the rest of her days. She could live a happy life with her Jedi. The last Nightsister and stranded Jedi building a life together. 

Cal Kestis had his hunt for the rancor, but now it was Merrin’s time to hunt and her choice of prey was her Jedi warrior.

[Break]

Apparently the crafting of the trophy takes a considerable amount of time and Nightsister magick. Merrin uses one of the spare rooms as a space to make it in private. Only ever coming out to eat, sleep, bathe, or requesting for the Nightbrothers to bring her raw materials to be used in the crafting of the trophy. She would even miss the sunset that she and Cal had watched nightly for almost a year.

Most of these materials consisted of Dathomirian fabrics, Veeka bird leather, that Dathomirian metal that Cal still has no idea what it's called, and even a small amount of gold ore. Cal had little idea what these materials could be crafted into, but it's not he wouldn’t find out soon anyways. After all the trophy Merrin was toiling over was being made for him. He had to admit that the idea of the Nightsister making something solely for him was a little exciting. Or at least he had been excited, but that had been two days ago.

Though he had to admit Merrin spending all her time working on the trophy left Cal feeling alone. Now Cal was by no means unacquainted with the feeling of loneliness. He had lived and traveled by himself for years on Dathomir. That fact doesn’t mean he enjoyed being alone. After being alone for so long having a friend, someone to talk to, felt almost like luxury.

He knew it was rather selfish of him to be slightly perturbed with Merrin leaving him to his own devices. After all the trophy she was spending her time working on was meant for him. The Nightsister did not owe him anything, while Cal certainly felt like he owed her everything. But that didn’t stop him from feeling a little hurt by the Nightsister’s actions, no matter how childish he knew it was. 

Luckily Cal was a patient man, after all he was a relatively well trained Jedi. He had been trained in patience from the first day he could walk at the Jedi temple, even before he could speak. And it's not like the two didn’t talk at all during this time. Whenever Merrin came out of the room to eat they would often converse while they ate together. Nowhere near as long as he was used to, the Nightsister always seemed eager to return to her task.

In the end it took two weeks for Merrin to finish. 

When the Nightsister finally came out declaring that her work was complete, Cal would be lying if he said he wasn’t overjoyed. 

Cal had been in the middle of lightsaber practice drills when Merrin had made her announcement to him. When the Nightsister saw the layer of dirt and sweat that Cal had caking his body, she had requested that he go bathe in the hotsprings before he was to be given his trophy. Not an unreasonable request, after all he was dirty, and the drying sweat mixing with the course red dirt of Dathomir did feel considerably uncomfortable when given time to notice.

When the Jedi had returned shortly thereafter, fresh and clean, he found Merrin in their bedroom with a large bundle of cloth and leather in hand. Along with the bundle she held a pair of metal and leather boots. 

“This is your trophy I have crafted for you, a set of Dathomirian battle robes. Please put them on.” Merrin handed him the large bundle along with the boots before making her way towards the door. “I will go and allow you privacy as you change.” And with that Merrin exited the room.

It did not take Cal long to figure out how to dawn the clothing. The robes, if you could even really call them that had three parts not including the boots. First part was the pants. Of similar style to Nightbrother made garments, just of better quality, made of a sturdy cloth dyed a dark, almost purplish, gray. Secondly was a sleeveless armored vest/shirt, made predominantly of what Cal guessed was Rancor leather; dyed a dark gray. Next the metal toed boots made out of both Veeka and Rancor leather were tall and almost reached Cal’s knees, they also had a strip of Dathomirian metal running down the front to act as armor plating. Lastly a knee length skirt to go over the pants was probably the only reason that the clothing were called robes. The knee length skirt buckled around his waist, was made of Rancor leather, dyed in a similar fashion to the pants, and had places to clip his lightsaber and even the Duskblade to the skirt’s belt. He guessed the skirt was for added protection that the pants did not have, while still allowing for the freedom of movement the pants allowed.

Overall the Dathomirian armored “robes” were a great improvement compared to the Nightbrother pants he had been wearing up until that point. The shirt/vest in particular. Cal had grown more than tired of wearing only pants for the past few years. The armored clothing fit perfectly, almost screarliy so. How Merrin had gotten his measurements he didn’t know.

“Are the robes to your liking Cal Kestis?” 

Cal turned around to spot the Nightsister leaning against the entrance of the room, a hand held behind her back. “Yes, they're perfect Merrin. Thank you.”

Merrin simply nodded, a smile apparent on her face. “I am glad you like them. There is one other piece left to give you.” She brought the hand that she had hidden behind her into the Jedi’s view. In it was a small length of gold. Upon closer inspection the length of gold revealed itself to be a bracelet of similar design to the necklace that Merrin had received from Ilyana. 

Merrin strode forward gestring for Cal to give her his hand. When he did Merrin proceeded to clip the bracelet onto his wrist. All the while Cal watched the delicate movement of her hands. 

When the gold of the bracelet touched his skin Cal was pulled into a Force echo, but unlike the average echo this one was held purly emotions. The emotions of the bracelet’s crafter as she had made it. The care and commitment that went into its crafting. The respect, care, understanding, admiration, devotion, and want she felt for the person she was crafting it for.

When the echo ended and Cal looked up to see the Nightsister’s two soft brown eyes staring back at him, looking at him as though he had just hung the stars for her, only one thought came to his mind.

Merrin loved him. And how that revelation was both the best and worst thing he could have learned at that moment.

Cal was stunned, his mind short circuiting into inaction as his eyes got lost staring into Merrin’s. After a few moments of staring at each other, Merrin’s began to stare at him with a smug look almost like she had planned on this. ‘Had she planned on letting him see that echo? Did she even know an echo was there? Was she aware that I know her feelings? Did she somehow figure out I love her?’ All these thoughts bombarding his mind only served to freeze his mind further into nonfunction. 

“Are you alright my Jedi?” Merrin’s voice asked gently. Cal’s heart most definitely stopped for a brief moment when Merrin referred to him as ‘her Jedi’.

“I-I don’t, I'm- n-not… sur-” Cal’s voice was stilled when Merrin moved closer, much closer. Deliberately invading his personal space, their bodies only millimeters apart. After a beat her hands raise to wrap themselves around his neck. “Uh, Merrin, what are yo-”

“Cal Kestis, I am aware that you find me appealing to look at.” Her words coupled with the matter of fact way they were delivered shut Cal up immediately, his thoughts and actions momentarily stopped while the Nightsister spoke. “I too find you appealing to look at, to spend time with you, to be with you.” her accent growing deliberately thicker at the last few words, almost giving them a double meaning.

In a rush Merrin surges forward aggressively pressing her lips to his. Cal’s body responds before his mind can, and he kisses her back with just as much force. She tastes like Brula fruit nectar, almost like blood. He never liked the taste of the fruit’s nectar even before he found out it was a hallucinogenic poison that causes temporary blindness the hard way. But at this moment he could hardly imagine a better taste. 

Cal wrapped his arm around Merrin’s waist trying to pull her closer. At the same time Merrin brought her left hand up from around his neck to his face to cup his chin softly. Their kiss was aggressive, intense, and almost painful, but that didn’t matter. It was unpractised, sloppy, hungry, and perfect to Cal in every sense of the word. The Nightsister was intoxicating to the young Jedi. 

Merrin began to push Cal with her body, the attached pair slowly moving backwards. Soon the backs of Cal’s legs hit the soft cushions of Merrin’s bed. He toppled backwards, momentarily breaking the kiss, allowing the two to catch their breath. As soon as his head hit the Nightsister’s mattress Merrin rejoined their lips, climping on top of him as she did. 

It was at that moment, when Merrin’s hips pressed into his and he felt her body atop his, that Cal’s mind and rationality came back to him. Using his one hand, Cal gripped Merrin by the shoulder and pushed their bodies apart. 

“Merrin we can’t do this! I can’t do this!” His panicked voice brought the fogginess out of her eyes.

“I do not understand.”

“I’m a Jedi. I can’t do stuff like this, have attachments like this!”

Both her hands cupped the Jedi’s cheeks, gently but possessively. “You are not a Jedi, but a Dathomirian.” She said simply before trying to relock lips.

In a rapid panicked motion Cal flipped them over so that Cal was now on top of Merrin. With only a moment of hesitation, that felt like it lasted hours, Cal fled out of the room and ran.

As he ran the only thing his consciousness registered were the pained and broken words of Merrin pleading for him to come back; to not leave her. 

[Break]

At first when Cal had run he had no idea where he was running to, only what he was running from. He just had to get away. Away from Merrin, away from that house, but mostly away from his own emotions. Scared that if he stayed any longer that he wouldn’t be able to resist the Nightsister’s advances and affections. Scared that he would do things that he wouldn’t be able to take back or forget. Scared that he would hurt Merrin more than he already had.

Cal trusted Merrin. He loved Merrin. He would do almost anything for her. But he did not trust himself. He did not love himself. And the key word was that he would do ‘almost’ anything for the Nightsister.

The young Jedi couldn’t be what Merrin obviously wanted him to be. He couldn’t do what Merrin had clearly wanted him to do at that moment. Cal would not lie and say he didn’t enjoy the kiss and all the emotions and passions it carried with it. At the moment it had trilled him that the person he loved appeared to love him back. His emotions, his heart, his primal instincts all screamed and yelled at him to go back there, back to her, to the woman he loved, and be everything she wanted him to be, do anything she wanted him to do.

But he couldn’t, because he was a Jedi. 

He wasn’t allowed to love. He wasn’t allowed to feel this way. A trained Force user that had these kinds of emotions was too dangerous. Emotions were too dangerous for trained Force users. The heart was often blind, and primal instincts were wild and selfish. All things that he as a Jedi was taught not to rely on, not to trust. His master’s dying breath had told him to trust only in the Force. Calmness, serenity, and discipline that is what a Jedi could rely upon when concerning themselves.

Cal had trusted Merrin, relied upon her for so long. Had that been a mistake? Had she planned that all out since she first brought up the whole ‘becoming a Dathomirian’ thing, or had it been just a spur of the moment.

He still loved the silver haired Nightsister, that he was sure of, that he knew. But the trust had been damaged. Damaged despite the fact that Merrin was hardly to blame he thought. Cal had told the Nightsister that Jedi couldn’t form attachments, couldn’t have be romantically involved, but it still wasn’t her fault. Maybe Merrin hadn’t remembered such a detail because he hadn’t emphasized it enough, or perhaps his explanation had been vague or poorly executed and she hadn’t grasped the full gravity of it. That had to be it, clearly. And because he had failed in explaining it, he was forced into that situation where he ran and broke her heart and his at the same time.

He truly was the monster Merrin had that Jedi were, wasn’t he?

He had hurt Merrin by running like that, by rejecting her. He had damaged a person that had already been damaged and subjected to the cruelest of fates the galaxy had to offer. Now he was lost on what to do, alone once again. Back where he had started before he had met the silver haired Nightsister, alone, afraid, and with little hope for the future, only this time with a broken heart. 

[Break]

What had she done? In her pursuit to insure that Cal Kestis never left her she had only succeeded in chasing him away, chasing her Light away, her future away, her happiness away. She had been selfish. Acting on her own desires while ignoring Cal Kestis’. Pushing herself onto him like she owned him. Like he was equal to a Nightbrother and that she could do what she wanted with him. 

The Nightsister had been completely aware that Jedi remain celibate throught their life. Cal had told her once before when she had been asking about his people. How could she have forgotten such a thing?

It's because, in truth, Merrin had not forgotten. She just chose to ignore instead of actually come to terms with that fact. Whether it was due to thinking the practice of celibacy by the Jedi was insignificant and would be dropped easily, thinking Cal Kestis would react upon his desires, his own love for her, and no the doctrine of the Jedi Order, or that he had actually decided to abandon the title of Jedi in favor of Dathomirian. 

Merrin had devised her plan to make Cal Kestis feel like he belonged on Dathomir, because to her he did belong. He belonged on Dathomir, and she had hoped to make it clear to him that she felt like he belonged with her. 

The Nightsister knew that the young Jedi never felt truly at home here on this planet of crimson, and that he still harbored hope that one day the Jedi Order that had abandoned him unknowingly would come back for him. 

She had wanted him to feel like he could view Dathomir as a home, their home. To feel like he could live a happy life here, with her. After all, had that not been what they were already doing, living a happy life together? She had ruined that happy life.

Merrin had wanted to live a happy life with him. Possibly start the rebuilding the start of a new coven with Cal Kestis by her side. The two of them, the start of something new; reborn from what was left behind. A literal world at their fingertips to build upon, to build a future for themselves. A bright future that just a few years ago she would have thought impossible, and now it was all gone up into ashes because Merrin had been selfish and forced away her Jedi with her rash actions and pursuits. 

Cal Kestis, her Light, her second love, her Jedi was gone. There was no knowing if he would ever come back, ever return to her side. And even if by some miracle he did, would he still love her or had that chance been lost? Would there ever be a chance at a happy life with him again?   
The Nightsister would gladly give up all her aspiration to rebuild the coven, have a romantic relationship, and even his love for her if she could just have him back with her right now.

Merrin had once again lost what she cared most for, but this time it was all her fault, no one else was to blame. She was back where she had started before she had ever met the emerald eyed Jedi, but this time with a heart broken anew.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: Chapter 12-Year 6 Part 4-Imperials
> 
> If you wanna have an idea of what Cal's new cloth/armor look like, it basically identical to what Savage Opress wears in the Clone Wars, except without the sleeves or shoulder pauldrons. 
> 
> I absolutely love reading and responding to comments. I can't wait to hear what y'all think of the chapter!
> 
> Next chapter should be out within the next two weeks, though I can't give a concrete time. I'm all out of reserve chapters, so weekly Saturday updates sadly won't be a thing anymore. But rest assured I'm to going to slow down on my writing any time soon and chapters should still come out relatively often, just not on a predictable schedule.


	12. Year 6 Part 4-Imperials

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look a chapter!
> 
> Also TRIGGER WARNING: There are some references to suicide. Procced with caution. You have been warned.

Living without Cal Kestis, her Jedi, was exactly as hard as Merrin had expected. She was both numb to emotion yet prone to fits of intense emotional outbursts. One minute she would be numb and unable to do much of anything the next she would be aggressive, devastated, and or mournful. She would cry until she became dehydrated, stare blankly at a wall for hours on end lost within her own thoughts and numbing grief, she would plead with her sisters and the will of Dathomir to return her Light to her, and when she would get no response or when her self hate would reach a tipping point she would lash out in anger destroying whatever was within close proximity. 

The first victim of the Nightsister’s fury had been her homes living area. The tables, chairs, and furniture had all ended up smashed or ripped to shreds by Dathomirian magick. The only thing that had survived the carnage had been the chair that Cal Kestis had often used when they used to eat together. 

Victim number two had been a Veeka that she had hunted only moments before. The bird’s carcass had been pulverized to a near liquid state, the only evidence that it had once been a Veeka bird were the few red feathers that survived the onslaught of magick and ended up floating on top of the pool of liquid meat. Needless to say Merrin had been forced to find something else to hunt.

An unlucky Nightbrother messenger had been victim number three. The message that he had been sent to deliver had never been conveyed, because the fleeing and bleeding Nightbrother had not elected to return after Merrin had lashed out at him for the crime of showing up when the Nightsister was having a breakdown. If the messenger had been one of the older Nightbrothers that were often sent to convey messages then she was sure that they would not have been swift enough to escape the Nightsister’s rage with their life. 

The most recent casualty had been the bedroom that she had shared with the lost Jedi. Her bed had gone first. The mattress and sheets had been shredded into fabric confetti, and the metal frame had been twisted and warped into what amounted to scrap metal. The chest in the corner that held fabrics, cloth, and extra bed sheets had been turned into a mist of splinters, wood scraps and sawdust. The contents had shared a similar fate with the mattress and bed sheets. All the other furniture had also been destroyed beyond repair or recognition. The only item spared had been the wood frame bed that Cal Kestis had used. 

All this rage had not been directed at the Jedi that had left her. No, all this rage was directed at Merrin herself. She alone had put herself into this situation. She alone was a worthy target for her rage. 

The Nightsister had also stopped performing the actions for daily necessities. She no longer bathed, the simple task forgotten. She had also found herself rarely eating. Cal Kestis was no longer around to hunt and she had not bothered to reinstate the hunting tributes from the Nightbrother village. On a few occasions Merrin had gone out to hunt for her own, but when she would return from the hunt and cook whatever she had caught it never had any flavor and she never ate more than a few measly bites. The only comfort she found in eating had been the smell. Her sense of smell had also been mostly lost to her, the only exception was the smell of roasted mushling roots. Merrin, being a Dathomirian, was unable to eat them and she was not entirely sure why she had initially gathered and roasted the roots after Cal Kestis had left. Perhaps it was out of nostalgia since the young Jedi had hardly gone a single meal without eating the cooked plant. Either way she had discovered that the smell of roasted mushling roots was the only thing that Merrin’s sense of smell could pick up.

Merrin also found that her Nightmares of her sisters’ massacre return, this time with added vision of her Jedi leaving or him returning only to claim he hated her. She hardly slept because of these night terrors. After the first night, she had tried sleeping in Cal Kestis’ old bed in the delusional hopes that it would offer some kind of comfort to her. That it would somehow still hold some of the young Jedi’s warmth. That it could help chase away the now returned Nightmares that had been plaguing Merrin. That if she woke up, that by some miracle that Her Jedi would be there with her. Of course those were only fantasies. The bed was cold, lacking any warmth of the Jedi. And when Merrin would startle awake crying from her Nightmares Cal Kestis would still be gone. All the bed offered was the small of him that leangured on the sheets, but even that small comfort was slowly fading away.

Color had even felt like it all but abandoned her vision. She only saw in shades of gray and red, all other colors had seemingly been lost to the Nightsister.

The broken Nightsister had not even attempted to meditate since her love and light had left her. The very idea of doing so was painful to her. If she meditated it was almost certain that she would seek out her lost Light, and whatever she would find would most definitely be devastating. Whether it was seeing her Light at such a far distance from her, possibly moving even further away would be crippling. The only thought scarier was the image of entering meditation to find that there was no Light. That something had happened to Cal Kestis after he left, that he had been overtaken by the darkness of this planet, or that he had somehow found a way off this planet and was long gone, lost in a galaxy completely foreign to her. Those thoughts had completely stopped Merrin from meditation.

Merrin no longer bathed, rarely ate, hardly slept, found many of her senses had left her, and was completely emotionally unstable. The last daughter of Dathomir was slowly fading away, and honestly that was all right with her.

Despite it all Merrin would never regret falling in love with her Jedi.

[Break]

Cal had moved out of sight of the mountain, not wanting to have it's figure on the horizon to be a constant reminder of what he had run away from, of whom he ran away from. There are just too many memories associated with the landmark. Losing his hand and his master’s weapon, fighting Gorgara, fighting Elsal, living with the Nightsister, falling in love with her, and breaking her heart. The young Jedi hated himself for that last memory in particular. He not only hated himself, but he also hated the Jedi order who’s tenets had forced him to break both his heart and the heart of another. He wonders how many hearts had been broken by that particular tenant. 

Cal wished he didn’t have to break Merrin’s heart, especially not the way he went about it. He wished he could go back to that mountain, go back to her, and apologize to the Nightsister and promise her everything. That truly was what the young Jedi wanted most right now, to be able to have the freedom to go back to her. But as a Jedi, such freedoms were not available to him. 

The young Jedi wonders if she would even forgive him. Would she still love him? Was he even worthy of Merrin’s love or forgiveness? He certainly didn’t think so. Had he ever been worthy of Merrin’s love in the first place, or had it all been a mistake? Honestly questions that he didn’t want the answer to.

He still lived in the Dathomirian swampland, he couldn’t find it in himself to go any further. 

Meditation was impossible once again, the visions he would receive wouldn’t allow him to keep a stable enough mind to stay in a meditative state for very long. Sleeping was riddled with Nightmares that ranged from his master’s death to Merrin hating him. Once he had even dreamed of the death of the entire Jedi order. That the incident with the 13th Clone Battalion had not been an isolated event, and that all the clones had turned on their Jedi commanders.

When Cal wasn’t trying in vain to sleep all his waking thoughts focused on the last daughter of Dathomir. Both the good as well as the bad memories, he missed them all. Every word spoken, every slight touch; whether they were accidental or intended, every moment of silent bliss between them, every conversation, every morning waking up to see her only meters away. 

Survival was no longer a priority of his, the memories were too much of a distraction for anything else to be a priority. He would still hunt and scavenge for food and water, but that was all. He only did the bare minimum to survive. Cal hadn’t even bothered finding a safe place to sleep, just deciding to nap wherever he would find himself when the sun would go down. He hardly cared for his own safety anymore.

Even the very act of the sun moving below the horizon was making the Jedi warrior break down. The sunset often bringing tears streaming forth. 

The will of Dathomir, as Merrin had called it, would often whisper it's demands into his ears. Demanding him to be angry. Angry at Merrin. Angry at himself. Angry at the whole of the galaxy that had landed him on this red rock floating around a red sun. It would insist that the young Jedi use this anger, for what purpose it would never say. 

He never listened to it. He was too tired to be angry at anything other than himself and the Jedi order. When Cal did muster up the energy to be angry at anything else he would often direct such anger at the planet itself. Yelling at the voice that whispered into his ear, screaming into the empty swamp like a mad man. Telling it to go away, to leave him alone and take it's twisted ideas with it. The voices' response was always laughter, the young Jedi’s rage seemingly a source of entertainment for it. Cal would scream and yell for hours on end, not stopping until his voice became temporarily unrecognizable and almost mute due to the intense strain. 

Despite the loud noise the wildlife never attacked, seemingly avoiding Cal. Only ever showing up when Cal actively hunted the wildlife for food. This left him with little to listen to or focus on besides his own thoughts and the whispers of the planet. Cal Kestis, the young Jedi warrior, padawan of the great Jedi master, Jaro Tapal, who had lasted years on Dathomir with his sanity intact, was slowly going mad in the span of just a few weeks.

He could hardly complain, he deserved it. He was slowly fading away, but despite it all he would never regret falling in love with Merrin. 

[Break]

It has been two weeks since Merrin had scared Cal Kestis away. Two long, agonizing, and terrible weeks. Merrin was at the worst point in her life. The only time comparable had been the weeks directly following the massacre of her coven. But at that time she at least had a task to motivate her. The burial of her sisters, though a morbid and heart wrenching task, was what had driven then Nightsister to continue on. After that her goal had shifted to that of overseeing her sister's burial pods and watching over her Light. A short time later the first sighting of the Jedi had been reported and her goal had changed to that of hunting him down in retribution for what his kin had done to her sisters. Lastly after being saved by the Jedi and having saved him shortly after her mind and time had been occupied by said Jedi.

But now Merrin had no task, goal, or companion to distract her, to make her feel worth something, and make her feel something worth feeling. Her sister’s had all been given their burial rights, her hunting of the Jedi had long been abandoned, and her companion, Light, and love had left her.

The Nightsister was broken with nothing left to care for or hold on to. She had reached her limit, almost. Merrin had one last hope for her to take solace in, and to seek out. And that was exactly what she aimed to do. 

She would seek out Cal Kestis and plead for him to come back. Apologize, insist that his presence was more than enough and that she would halt all romantic pursuits if he just returned to their mountain home with her. Merrin hoped beyond hope that her young Jedi still had some love for her and that would sway him. She hoped, but did not expect. 

If Cal Kestis was not swayed, and refused to return, then that would be it for the Nightsister. She would end it all then. And in death she would be alone just like she was for the last days of her life; alone and heartbroken. One last selfish act.

Meditation would be her way of seeking out her Light, just like the last time she had wished to seek it out. Though her fears of what she might see if she entered meditation, her resolve and fear of what may happen if she did not seek out her Light was greater than her fear of meditation.

When the Nightsister delved reluctantly into a meditative state she first scanned the mountain for any signs of her Light. She found none. Merrin had expected this, she had doubted that Cal Kestis had stayed on the mountain after he left. So she expanded her search to the swampland and the foot and directly around the mountain. Again nothing. That was slightly concerning. Broadening her search to the further reaches of the swampland. Looking north found her nothing. East and west were the same. Lastly south was checked and finally the Nightsister spotted something. Her lost Light still persisted, and was currently about five days travel directly south of the mountain, still well within the swampland.

A wave of relief washed over the Nightsister. Cal Kestis was still with reach. There was still hope of rectifying her mistake, still hope of a future. Her Jedi was unharmed and still near her. It was after the initial sense of relief had left Merrin that she had noticed something was clearly wrong. Cal Kestis’ Light was fading. It was almost like deja vu to when she had first seen the Light fading into darkness right before her run in with Gorgara. Her Jedi was fading away, losing to the influence of Dathomir. 

Within an instant Merrin was up and running towards the door. Only one goal on her mind; to go to her Jedi.

[Break]

A distance that should have taken someone at least five days to travel had only taken the determined Nightsister a little under three days to make the distance. Merrin was on a mission.

For the whole three days of travel she did not rest or sleep, and only ate and drank to keep herself going. She did not bother to cook the food, doing so would be a waste of precious time, and had resorted to eating raw meat to save the time. Dathomirian were completely capable of safely eating raw meat after all. Why not take advantage of such an evolutionary trait? Time was of the essence after all. Merrin had no idea how much time she had until Cal Kestis’ Light faded away and was lost to her. 

When she finally stumbled upon her quarry, her lost Jedi, time felt like it stopped. Cal Kestis was standing, battle ready, his weapon only moments from being lit. He must have heard Merrin moving through the wildlife and had suspected her of being a hostile Dathomirian beast. 

Their gazes locked immediately. For all Merrin’s determination to find the emerald eyed Jedi, she had not planned out what she would say or how she would go about her apology. Even if she had planned it out meticulously she doubted her planning would have held up under the frightened gaze of her Jedi.

Cal Kestis was in a sorry state, that much was clear. Though Merrin doubted she looked much better considering she was sleep deprived, half starving, and had been traveling non stop for three days straight. He looked disheveled, dirty, and tired with deep bags under his eyes that indicated he was probably sleep deprived as well. Similar to how he had looked when she had first laid eyes upon him years ago. The only difference outside of his battle robes was that he was clearly afraid of her. 

His expression was that of wide eyed confusion and fear, much like a wild animal staring down the purple plasma bolt from a Dathomirian plasma bow, moments away from becoming a successful hunt. Seeing the young Jedi’s emerald green eyes, that she loved deeply, gaze at her in such a way wounded the Nightsister to her very core. Had she truly become such an object of fear to Cal Kestis? Merrin truly was a selfish monster to cause such anguish to the person she loved. To harm such an amazing and kind person that was this young man.

The pair continued to stare at each other for several agonizing seconds. Finally the Jedi spoke, shattering the tense silence like a hammer to poetry. 

“M-Merrin” He whispered in astonishment. His battle ready stance fades as he slowly retreats backwards, keeping his eyes on the Nightsister, mere moments from running. “I-I can’t-I’m sorry…”

Merrin reaches out a despite hand, to try and halt him from running. After he flinches at her sudden movement she retracts the appendage like she had been burned. “Please do not run.”

The quiet pleading tone in her whisper halted the Jedi from retraiting. Now that the initial shock and fear of Merrin suddenly appearing before him Cal took in the appearance of the Nightsister.

Her robes were covered in layers of dirt and mud from traveling the swampland. Her bare skin covered in sweat and red damp sand. Her silver hair was disheveled and oily, almost looking partially brown due to the dried mud that had somehow found a place among the Nightsister’s hair. The bun that her hair was usually put in was partially undone, leaving a few strands of hair to cascade down onto her shoulders. Despite it all she was still the most beautiful person he had ever known. But on even closer inspection something was clearly wrong. Merrin didn’t stand or carry herself with the dignified or self assured poster he was used to seeing from the Nightsister. She was scared, desperate, running on fumes, and unsure of herself. There seemed to be dried blood around her lips. Her robes hid it well but he could tell she was thinner. Her eyes were fuzzy and had bags under them, seemingly sleep deprived. She looked moments from collapsing.

“Merrin! What happened?” His concern for her well being evident.

“Please come back with me.” Her desperation was clear to him. “I now that I have hurt you by my actions, and I am sorr-”

“Your… sorry?” Cal whispered. She nodded. He was absolutely baffled. “How can you be sorry? It’s my fault. I’m the one that ran away, the one be what you wanted me to be, the one tha-”

“No!” Merrin’s loud voice interrupted him, “Cal Kestis it is solely my fault. I knew that Jedi could not have romantic relations, yet I pushed you. I attempted to make you drop your people’s practises, all for my own selfish desires. I was scared that you would one day leave me and I schemed to prevent such an outcome.” Tears were flowing unhindered down her gray skin, her knees trembling from a mix of emotion and fatigue, “I saw, still see, in you my future and the very thought of you leaving scares me beyond measure.” It was becoming clear that she was on the verge of collapse, “By pushing my wants and desires onto you I ended up chasing you away. By trying to keep you from ever leaving, I chased you away instead.”

Merrin had fallen to her knees, crying weakly into her hands. The Nightsister was showing all her vulnerabilities for the world to see, for him to see. His body, mind, and heart were all yelling at the young Jedi to go to her, hold her, reassure her that he would never leave her. But he couldn’t do that, he couldn’t promise her that.

Her crying stalled momentarily as she looked up into his gaze. “Please Cal Kestis, don’t go, come back with me.”

Her sorry state as well as the pleading and desperation that both her gaze and voice held caused the young Jedi to collapse to his knees as well. “I can’t, I-I just can’t. I wish I could. I want to be everything you want me to be, I want to give you the world and more, but I can’t.” He answered her weakly. “I want to hold you and tell you i’m yours. I wish I could be your future, and you be mine, but I can’t; we can’t.”

Mustering the last of her strength she lunged at him. Her arms wrapping around him, her nails digging into his back. She held him with painful desperation. Merrin’s head found a place in the crook of Cal Kestis’ neck as she continued to cry weakly. 

“I just want you to be with me. Not romantically, just beside me. To have the life we shared before. Your presence in my life has poisoned me, I-I can not-I will not continue without you. Please…” Her grip on him tightened, he could almost feel her nails cracking against the leather of his vest, like she was holding on for dear life. And considering her words, maybe she was.

The Nighsister’s words were daunting to the young Jedi. Cal knew that Merrin hadn’t meant for her words to come off as threatening, nor would she have intended them to be, but he knew what she meant with her words. If he refused to go back with her, if he left the Nightsister here she would end everything. While trying to convey how important Cal was to her, she had also let loose the threat she was to her own life if the young Jedi were to leave. Merrin wouldn’t let herself survive to the next day.

The very thought made Cal wrap his own hand around the woman’s waist, and brought tears to his own eyes.

He had done this to her. Merrin was one of the strongest people he had ever known, stronger than any non-Jedi he had ever met. Cal had taken down her emotional walls revealing her to be a broken girl hiding from the galaxy that had damaged her, and he had proceeded to shatter her further. 

His protective grip pulled the weeping Nightsister closer. “Merrin, I’m so so so sorry I left you. I’m sorry I ran.” His hand came up from her waist to cradle the back of her head. “I won't leave you again, I can at least promise you that.”

Merrin’s body relaxed into his embrace and her soft crying slowly transitioned to slow wimpers. It wasn't long till the Nightsister had fallen asleep cradled in her Jedi’s embrace.

[Break]

Merrin woke up feeling warm, comfortable, and safe. She could hardly remember her mattress ever feeling like this before. She nuzzled deeper into her lumpy mattress, and she could have sworn that her mattress had also been softer, but she wasn’t complaining. If her mattress and sheets continued to be so inviting and comfortable she doubts if she would ever get out of bed again.

Then her mattress shifts unnaturally.

It was then the Nightsister noticed a few things that had gone unnoticed or ignored until that moment. First Merrin’s fingernails held a slight pain to them, like she had smashed them against something. Her skin was sticking to her clothes from the dried up remains of sweat. Her bare skin felt itchy and dirty, like they were caked in a layer of dirt. But most importantly Merrin noticed that what she was laying on was no mattress, but was in fact a living being.

It's slow rise and fall of it's chest, where Merrin head was currently resting, as well as the clear and comforting beating of the creatures heart were clear enough indicators that this was not her mattress.

Merrin slowly opened her eyes and shifted her eyes upwards towards the creature's head. She was met with green irises that the Nightsister knew so well. She was currently laying atop the young Jedi that had stolen her heart and more. All at once the events of before she had fallen asleep came back to her. 

The relief she feels overcome her in overwhelming. Cal Kestis would stay with her. She had her Jedi back. Not romantically, but that was alright with the Nightsister. Merrin was done being selfish. Selfishness had only served to chase away that which she cared for and she would not risk such an outcome again. She was content to just have the redhead, whom she loved, present in her life again.

“You’re awake.” Cal Kestis’ tired voice stirs the Nightsister out of her thoughts. It becomes apparent that she had been gazing into his eyes for sometime. If the slight blush he was exhibiting was anything to go on, Cal Kestis was slowly growing uncomfortable from the attention. 

Merrin gives a slight nod before averting her gaze elsewhere. It's night time, and judging by the positions of the two moons it was a little after midnight. It had been a little before midday when she had encountered the Jedi. She must have fallen asleep and Cal Kestis had stayed up to watch over her while she slept.

“You had been asleep for over half a day. I was starting to get worried.” It only makes sense as she had not slept for the three days it had taken to get here, and she hardly had a solid sleep schedule for the past two weeks.

Gazing once again at her Jedi, Merrin took in the state of him. He looks miserably tired. How long had it been since he had slept? More than a day to she would wager. “Cal Kestis, you must be tired. Sleep, I will watch over us and will find us something to eat.”

At her words he looks conflicted, almost scared. “Don’t you think we should talk about what happened first?”

“Sleep and food come first, then we will speak. You can not expect to have a sound conversation if you can barely keep your eyes open, and your stomach is louder than your own voice.”

Cal Kestis seemingly contemplates her words for a few moments before acquiescing. Closing his eyes and leaning back it takes little time for the Jedi to fall asleep. 

Merrin layed there for an extended period of time just listening to the steady beat of his heart. But after some time passes she decides it's about time she got up and set to her tasks. Slowly, reluctantly the Nightsister got off the slumbering Jedi and started moving the Jedi to give him some simplance of comfort as he slept. She knew Cal Kestis was a light sleeper so it spoke volumes to how tired he was when he hardly stirred when she moved his body. 

After that small task was completed Merrin started the casting of a small spell that would protect the Jedi from any wildlife that may happen upon him while he is asleep. With that done she was free to go hunting for the two of them. Merrin wanted to hurry so as to not leave Cal Kestis alone for too long. The spell she had cast was designed to last for extended periods of time, but considering her fatigued state she was not about to risk it. There was also a paranoid part of her mind scared that if she left for too long that Cal would not be here when she returned. The Nightsister knew that to be fruitless paranoia as the Jedi had plenty of chance to leave while she had been asleep and yet he stayed, just like he promised her.

Within two hours she had hunted a smaller sized Sprantal. It was still plenty big to feed the two of them several times over. Personally Merrin had a slight craving for Veeka at this moment but sadly they lived in mountainous regions, and rarely traveled down into the swamps. Plus Sprantal meat was healthier and easier for the body to digest so there was that as well. She had also taken time to gather mushling roots to roast for Cal Kestis.

When Merrin returned her Jedi was unharmed and the spell was still in affect. Starting a small fire to cook what she hunted and gathered, she elected to forgo cooking the whole of the Sprantal meat and to just cook the large tail. The tail was large enough to feed both of them, and it was widely considered the best part of the creature’s meat, other than the heart. Merrin personally could not stand the taste of raw Sprantal meat, Cal could not eat raw meat as he was human, and cooking the heart made it far too bitter and borderline inedible. After the tail was finished cooking, the mushling roots were next.

As the Nightsister roasted the roots there rich smell made her mouth water and only increased her apatite as she had practically starved herself for the past few weeks. She knew that she could not safely eat the roots like Cal Kestis could, but she had come to associate their smell with eating as Cal Kestis never went a meal without partaking in the roasted roots, and the Sparantal has little to no smell when cooked. 

When that was done the Nightsister decided to wait for Cal Kestis to awaken before she would start eating, however long that would take. Sure she was absolutely starving, but it did not feel right eating without the Jedi. That was part of the reason Merrin had not eaten much over the past two and a half weeks. So she waited.

Many hours later Cal started to rise from slumber. As soon as she had noticed the first signs of the Jedi waking up she started to reheat the tail meat, as it had long gone cold. The roots, according to what Cal Kestis had once told her, were just as good eaten cold as eaten warm. He would often cook extra and eat them throughout the day.

“Cal Kestis, you are awake. I have prepared us food.”

Rubbing his eyes he surveyed the sky. “How long was I out?” He asked when he failed to identify the time of day due to a thick fog that had set in.

“Nine hours. I am currently warming up the food for use, it will just be a few moments.” Cal went from surveying the sky to surveying the Nightsister’s face. She had adopted her usual stoic expression. The emotional and vulnerable Merrin from yesterday was gone. He was both comforted and concerned by this.

On the one hand it felt much like old times and there was comfort to be found in that. On the other hand Cal found the idea of returning back to their norm as impossible considering he was completely aware of Merrin’s feelings towards him, and what had transpired yesterday. 

The two of them ate in a calm silent awkwardness that was practically palpable. Luckily it was easy to ignore as both of them were starved and ate their meal like a pair of ravenous animals.

When the two of them finished with their meal Cal took the chance to speak, “We should probably talk about what happened.” He tried to look into Merrin’s eyes but she avoided his gaze.

“You still appear tired, are you sure you do not want to rest more first?” An obvious and half hearted dodge.

“Are you trying to avoid this?”

“I am just worried, that is all… But you are right we must talk.” Her stoic persona breaks for a fraction of a second.

Cal nods, “Are you okay?”

This question seems to confuse the Nightsister as she looks at him quizzically. “What do you mean?”

“When I saw you yesterday you were, still are, covered in sweat, mud, and dirt. You even had some blood on your lips. When you fell asleep you slept for over half a day. As you ate your food you practically inhaled it, like you hadn’t eaten anything for days.”

“All of those descriptions outside of the blood could also be used to describe you at this current moment as well, could they not?” She points out.

Less than pleased, Cal responds. “My question still stands.” 

“My state of appearance was due to traveling here non stop for three days.” Merrin stated simply, seemingly finding no problem with her answer.

“You traveled here non stop for three days!? Like no sleep, no rest, no drinking or eating!? That’s dangerous Merrin. What if something happened? That also doesn't account for the blood on your lips.”

“I had more pressing concerns at the time. Nothing of note happened, and I did eat some. The dried blood was from the raw meat I had eaten.” Seemingly predicting his next question Merrin continued, “Dathomirian can safely eat raw meat. You need not worry about my well being.”

“I always will.” Cal spoke sincerely before a tired sigh escaped his lips, then paused, unsure of how to continue. It didn’t help that Merrin wasn’t speaking either, seemingly waiting for him to speak.“So… you love me?” He softly speaks, looking the Nightsister in the eyes.

To his astonishment Merrin looks back with a self assured serious face. He had expected her to show some embarrassment, or at least avoid his gaze. She doesn't speak, but she gives a solid nod of her head, the whole time keeping her gaze locked with his.

“Why?”

“Why do you love me?” She turned his question onto him. It wasn’t a hard question for him to answer either. He had thought through why he loved the silver haired Nightsister many times both before and after he had left. But the answer was somewhat embarrassing, especially for someone who wasn’t very good at conveying his emotions. Though he supposed all those must also apply to Merrin as well. She had to have asked herself at least a few times why she had fallen in love with someone like him. And she also wasn’t skilled in conveying her emotions, though he could honestly say that at least she was far more blunt and straight about it.

“I-I-Because you're you. You saved my life, you’re the best thing that's happened to me in my time on this planet. You’re beautiful and I enjoy the time I spend with you more than I have enjoyed anything else in my life. You've treated me with nothing but kindness since you saved me. You're the one bright spot on this dark red planet.”

She placed her tattooed hand over his clothed knee nearest her. “My answer is the same, Cal Kestis.” Her stoic mask once again faltered, replaced by a face that showed nothing but honesty, admiration, and love.

It all made what Cal was about to ask hurt even more. “You do realize that this-” He points between the two of them, “-can never happen?” Sorrow lacing every word he spoke.

Her confident and loving face falls and he’s almost certain he sees a tear starting to form under her right eye. “I am aware.” Merrin’s trembling whisper of a voice sends a wave of guilt running through the young Jedi.

“I’m sorry.”

“You are not a fault. I know you too are being hurt by this.” She reached up to wipe away a tear off his face that he didn’t know had escaped.

As Merrin retracted her hand Cal spoke again, turning to a topic that he was most worried about. “One last thing, we need to talk about something you said. About how you “will not continue without me.” Merrin what did you mean by that?”

The Nightsister went back to avoiding his gaze, a look of guilt plastered onto her face. That told Cal everything he needed to know. His guess on the true meaning of her words had sadly turned out to be accurate. The horror of what Merrin had almost been driven to was too much for the young man. His hand took hold of hers gently, he could have sworn that she flinched at the touch. “Merrin, please tell me you won't ever think that way again. Promise me!”

She refuses to respond for a concerning amount of time. It lasts long enough that Cal was about to press further when she finally spoke. 

“When you left I did not know what I would do without you. I do not want to be in that place again.” The single tear that had been building up under her eye had finally started it's path down her cheek. “I do not want to be alone again.”

Cal gently reached forward with his hand to brush away the drop of salty liquid. As he does so Merrin presses her cheek further into his touch. “You won't be. I promise.”

[Break]

The two set out for the mountain a short time later. They were both still exhausted and not in the best health, but they thought it better to regain their strength at the mountain rather than in the middle of the hostile swamps of Dathomir. Their pace was slow and leisurely, they were hardly pressed for time after all. 

On the second day of travel they stopped at the side of a river to clean themselves to a comfortable degree. As continuing to travel, eat, and sleep when covered head to toe in dried sweat and dirt was more than just uncomfortable. 

The two hardly talked during their travel across the swamp. On a few occasions the Nightsister had tried to continue his Dathomirian language lessons, but they never lasted too long. Cal knew that the awkward silence bothered and hurt Merrin deeply, he could hardly stand it himself. Cal wanted to go back to the old life they had together but that wasn’t currently possible. He wasn’t sure if it ever would be possible again. 

Cal loved her, Merrin loved him. It would be perfect if it weren't for the fact that he was a Jedi. Being a Jedi ment he had to push Merrin away, and in doing so he harmed her deeply. Even now as he returned to the mountain with her he had no idea what they were going to do from here. Could they really just return back to their old routines that easily?

He knew he wasn’t the only one feeling guilty about what had transpired the day he ran. Merrin also felt guilty about putting him in a situation where he was forced to choose between who he was and her. But if she hadn’t done what she did, how long would they have danced around each other’s feelings until something inevitably went wrong and their friendship imploded? Had her early actions caused this or was it inevitable that their relationship would end up where it is now? Only the Force knows.

The Force. That was another thing. It was a question he used to ask himself all the time, but after his fight with Gorgara he seemingly forgot about it. Why had the Force originally led him to the mountain all those years ago? He still had no answer. Not that he had been looking very heard. He seemingly forgot about the whole thing after Gorgara and instead focused on only the Nightsister. The only real reason he remembered was because when he had left he had started to feel the pull towards the mountain again as soon as he had left. But right now with Merrin next to him that pull had ceased once again. 

The whisper of the planet’s will had also grown quite just like the Force's pull when Merrin had shown up. What this all meant, he had no idea. Even now he could feel Dathomir’s influence on his mind weakening, draining, as he continued onwards. Like the Nightsister’s presence was grounding his mind and calming him. Maybe ‘calming’ isn't the right word to use. Distracting was probably more important. Cal was far from calm, but he was focused on other things rather than his own self pity. Focusing on more tangible problems rather than the abstract problems concerning his place in the Force.

On their fourth day of travel, still more than a day away from the mountain, probably two days, a moving object above the swamp canopy is sighted by the pair. The swamp fog had passed only a few hours earlier allowing the red sky of Dathomir to peak out from between the branches and plant life that made up the swamp canopy. Whatever it was, it was fast, large, and very high up in the sky.

It was rather hard to get a clear look at whatever it was from down in the swamp, so Cal started climbing a large Gravethorn, while Merrin teleported atop the tree.

What the two of them saw was something they never thought they would ever see again. The Nightsister had not seen such an object since before the massacre of her coven, and the Jedi hadn’t seen one since his fall onto Dathomir.

A space shuttle. From what Cal could gather it looked to be a large military transport or cargo ship. But the model was completely unknown to him. The only real reason he believed it to be military were the military grade guns the ship was sporting, and the lacking of a paint job. Civilian ships couldn’t normally have such weapons, let alone on a transport. And smugglers tended to give more personality to their ships, or at the very least not have such a well made and well maintained ship.

As the ship sped through the sky it's destination became obvious to the Jedi. And as he watched it descend before landing near the peak of the mountain he and the Nightsister were currently headed to, that only confirmed it. 

Whoever owed that ship, and whatever they were up to, it somehow involved the mountain on Dathomir. That couldn’t be good, Cal was sure of it.

[Break]

After sighting the large military vesal land on the mountain that was their home. Cal and Merrin picked up their traveling pace. Unsure what the transport’s purpose was on a backwater planet like Dathomir.

Cal could tell that Merrin was more than a little concerned, though she tried to hide it. He was concerned as well. The ship was a complete mystery to him, and that scared him. Even when the Albedo Brave had been stationed above Dathomir, not once had command or Master Tapal deemed it necessary to go down to the planet's surface, let alone send a transport probably full of troopers.

“Cal Kestis. Did that ship look at all familiar to you?” Merrin asked calmly as took a short rest.

“No, all I can say is it looks like a military transport or cargo ship. Which military I don’t know. Doesn't look CIS at all. Kinda looks like a Republic ship, but I’ve never seen that model before.”

“Could it be a Jedi ship?” The Nightsister asked wearily. A simple dismissive shake of his head seemed to calm the Nightsister down a little, only a little. It seems she was worried that the Jedi had come. Whether to retrieve him or to finish off the last of the Nightsisters hardly mattered. Both outcomes scared her, he was sure. “A transport. What do you think that ship would be transporting?”

“Probably soldiers.” He knew that answer isn't comforting, but it’s honestly what he believed the transport was caring. 

“How many do think it could hold.”

“More than fifty, less than a hundred.”

Merrin’s expression grew dark, and she responded with a shallow nod of her head before standing up. Signaling that they should get a move on. 

A couple hours later a large contentious plume of smoke started to rise up from the mountain. Hardly a good sign. A day later when they had made their way to the foot of the mountain it became clear that the smoke was coming from the Nightbrother village halfway up the mountain.

Upon this realization Merrin grabbed Cal’s wrist and the two of them were teleported up the mountain to the village. Cal’s face was immediately assaulted by smoke, obscuring his vision and making his eyes water. The smell of burning wood did little to hide the scent of plasma burned skin that filled the air. When Cal was finally able to clear his senses enough to actually see the Jedi couldn’t believe his eyes. The whole of the village was destroyed and burned, it's residents ,young and old, dead and strewn about the area, every single one sporting blaster fire wounds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: Chapter 13-Year 6 Part 5-Flight (Title might be changed)
> 
> Honestly got this chapter out faster than I thought I would. Had more time off work than usual. 
> 
> Hope you guys liked it. I might be wrong but I believe this is my longest chapter yet. AS always I love reading and responding to your comments! Next chapter should be out in under two weeks (but don't quote me on that).


	13. Year 6 Part 5-Flight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is out much later than what I had hoped. I combination of mild writers block and bad weather causing work scheduling issues caused this work to be out a week late to what I had originally hoped. But I gotta say I am really happy with how this chapter ended up. Hope you enjoy!

The carnage was horrific. The smell of plasma and burning flesh was almost overwhelming to the senses. Not a soul was spared. Even the youngest of Nightbrothers that were little more than children had been shot down, their blaster wounds still smoking. The elderly seemed to have attempted to shield the youngest of the village, their bodies either laying near or draped over the youngest Nightbrothers. There were a few faces that Cal recognized, though he knew none of their names. 

Every building or structure not carved out of rock was burning or already burned. Many of the ropes used to hold up several structures in the village had snapped from the fire, leaving said structures unstable at best, or already collapsed at worst. The structures that couldn’t be burned were peppered with blaster burns.

It was clear that the Nightbrothers had attempted to put up a fight, with many bodies still holding their weapons with death grips. They must have been overwhelmed by an enemy with better quality and more advanced equipment. 

What made it even more unsettling to Cal was the fact that there were only Nightbrother bodies, no bodies belonging to whomever had committed the slaughter. That either meant that the perpetrators either gathered up their dead or hadn’t been delivered any casualties. The latter option being a far scarer thought. 

“Is anyone still alive?” He called out into the ruined settlement in native Dathomirian. Cal wasn’t expecting a response, nor did he get one, but that didn’t stop him from letting out a frustrated yell.

“It has happened again.” His companions' dangerously low voice brought Cal out of his stupor. Turning his attention to the Nightsister. He wasn’t prepared for what he saw.

Merrin was on her knees cradling in her lap the head of the youngest of the Nightbrothers, looking to have only been around seven or eight years old. One of his arms had been blasted off at the shoulder by blaster fire, along with one of his feet. His other arm clenched around a small flint knife that the boy had probably crafted himself. The boy's face still held the defiant snarl he died with, though his lifeless eyes sucked out all the aggression the expression had probably once held.

The Nightsister that now cradled the boy's corpse looked both parts devastated and furious. She was practically radiating pure anger, glaring daggers at the ground ahead while her teeth were bared in rage at the galaxy. Tears streaming down her face, going unnoticed. “It has happened again.” She repeated herself, as her magick started to swirl around her, seemingly responding to her emotional state.

In an instant Merrin’s head whipped around to Cal. “Who could have done this?”

“I-I don’t know.” He didn’t. Who would lay waste to a people that hadn’t done anything? What was the aim of such a slaughter? For what purpose had they come here to commit genocide? 

Cal’s eyes scanned the village ruins looking for any kind of clue to answer these questions. Near one of the warrior’s bodies a small polished white object caught the Jedi’s eye. Nothing on Dathomir was even close to being such a clear and bright white, at least nothing he’d ever seen.

Approaching the object that was partially buried in the debris, what Cal saw gave him flashbacks. Flashbacks of white armored troopers, former friends, hunting him down in the cold steel corridors of the Albedo Brave, gunning Cal’s mentor as if they had all but forgotten the many hard fought battles they had lived through together. The flashbacks were so vivid that Cal had first thought them to be an echo, but they wern’t. The object in question was a shattered piece of white plastoid armor plating, almost identical to what the Republic clone troopers had worn.

One of the reasons Cal’s senses had been drawn to the shattered armor piece outside of it's bright white color was that it was radiating a strong force connection, an echo. Much easier to feel considering how recent the memory held within must be.

Whether it was a good idea to tap into said echo, he wasn’t sure. There was little doubt that this echo was associated with what had transpired here. But he didn’t really want to witness the slaughter of a village, especially not through the eyes of one committing the slaughter. And what if he discovered something even worse, what if the Republic was guilty of this? What would that mean for everything, his past, his loyalties, his future, and his relation with Merrin? How would this echo shake his already damaged galaxy view? He wasn’t sure.

But if he ignored it, would that be fair to Merrin? He had a means of discovering who had committed this crime to her people. It would be as simple as reaching down and glancing a touch against this broken armor, and Cal could answer many of Merrin’s questions. And even if he decided to ignore such a chance, it was highly probable that they would discover the answer eventually considering the perpetrators probably haven't left the mountain. 

Taking a glance back at the Nightsister, Merrin seemed to have gotten up leaving the boy's corpse laid gently across the ground, it's eys now shut. She seemed to be looking for something, probably clues, while tears continued to flow freely. Merrin has gone through so much in the last few weeks, gone through some much in her short life. Was it really fair of him to withhold clues from her just because he was scared?

Making up his mind Cal crouched down to take the plastoid into his hand. The echo was clear, and strong. The young Jedi was given the senses of a trooper in familiar white armor. Standing among many more of the same troopers as they laid waste to the Nightbrothers. Brother after brother was gunned down with little a thought outside of aiming and keeping track of any that got too close. Out of the corner of the soldier's vision was a red and black blur. All of a sudden his vision went black as a large mass impacted into the soldier's helmet. The echo ended. The shattered piece of plastoid must have been a part of the helmet that had been shattered.

What baffled Cal most about what the echo had shared with him was the troopers themselves. Their armor and weaponry, though similar, was different to that the clone army had used. That didn’t rule them out as being Republic troopers, but there was something that did tell Cal that they were not clones. The heights of the armored troopers. Clone troopers all had the same DNA, and ate the same rations as they grew up. This meant clone troopers all had near identical heights, only differing a millimeter at most. The troopers in the echo memories varied in height greatly, many being several inches taller or shorter than the troopers next to them. 

“What did you learn.” The Nightsister’s voice asked from directly behind him. Startled, he hadn’t heard her approach, he turned. She looked at him with a sad curiosity, her tears stopped, though the wet streaks they left behind were still apparent. “What did your Force show you?”

“Soldiers, dressed in white armor. I don’t recognize who they are. But I might know how to figure it out.”

[Break]

The Jedi had guessed that these soldiers had to have some kind of base of operations. Their best guess is that these white armored troopers worked out of their landing ship, or atleast near it. Attacking the ship for information or to strand them on Dathomir wasn’t an option. Cal Kestis nor Merrin had any idea of the enemy's numbers, and if troopers became stranded that would only mean the two of them would have to deal with them for longer. 

Cal Kestis’ idea seemed simple enough. The mountain was practically crawling with trooper patrols. These patrols must have set up smaller outposts around this large mountain. After all not all these patrols could be based at the landing ship. These outposts might offer less information than the main base, but they would also offer less resistance. If they were lucky maybe they could get the information they were seeking without even getting caught. In and out with no one the wiser. 

Merrin was the first to spot one of these patrol outposts. A large canvas tent surrounded by simple fortifications, with a few metal containers stacked up next to some of the fortifications. Only a few guards, what looked like a low rank commander, and a few construction droids in the process of building a more permanent building. 

The commander seemed to be carrying a rectangular device that Cal Kestis called a data pad. This pad was what could possibly hold information on these invaders purposes for coming to Dathomir. Stealing the data pad was as simple as her Jedi using his Force to cause a distraction by toppling over a few metal crates near one of the droids. When the commander put down the data pad to run over and yell at the droid. All the while an invisible Merrin whisked away the forgotten device.

The two of them were long gone by the time the commander discovered the loss. He would probably assume an animal had stolen it. 

As soon as they were away she had handed the pad over to the young Jedi. The Nightsister had little experience with such things while Cal had at least some experience with similar items, though that experience may have grown a little rusty considering how long he had been stranded on her planet. As she watched the Nightsister noticed that Cal Kestis became increasingly confused with whatever information was on the data pad.

“Does it tell you who they are, who they work for, why they are on our planet?” 

Cal Kestis gave a slow nod, his eyes never leaving the glass screen, before he spoke. “It does, but that’s the confusing part. They are troopers for the Galactic Empire.”

Merrin had to think about that for a moment, racking her brain for any knowledge she might have on such an empire. She had none. “Forgive me but I do not believe I have ever heard of a Galactic Empire, and you have never mentioned them before. I recall only the Republic for which you and your order were aligned as well as a Confederacy.”

“I haven’t heard of them either.” He looked just as confused as she felt. “As for why they are here it says they are looking for Zeffo artifacts in and around the temple at the peak of the mountain. Under direct orders from the emperor himself.”

“They committed slaughter upon my village because they wanted ancient pottery!? They attempted to erase my people so they could have access to artifacts of an already erased people!” She could feel her magic rising in anger. This empire, whomever they were, had no rights to anything on Dathomir, but saw fit to not only steal from the planet but gun down it's inhabitants at the same time.

“Says something about these Zeffo being a race of powerful force wielders. The emperor is looking for artifacts related to that.” Cal Kestis continued, probably hoping in vain that this small addition of information would distract the Nightsister from her rage.

“How do we get them to leave Dathomir?” She wanted them dead or gone as soon as possible. These imperial troopers had no right to be here, and their emperor had no claim on the artifacts within the temple. Merrin herself had little need or care for said artifacts, but she knew theft when she saw it, and couldn’t allow the murder of the Nightbrothers to go answered. 

Cal swiped through the data pad a few times and paused to read something before answering. “Says here that this is a small operation. A non priority. We could probably just mess up some of their equipment and personnel and they’ll leave. Once they figure out Dathomir is more dangerous than they expected they’ll probably leave for good. If that doesn't work we could probably destroy the temple and everything inside.”

“That will do.”

[Break]

Over the next couple of days Cal and Merrin started disrupting imperial operations on the mountain. Destroying equipment while making it look like either a malfunctioning droid or wildlife were to blame. Making whole guard patrols go missing. And helping the wild beasts of the mountain making a nuisance and danger of themselves. 

Cal had made it clear to Merrin that they would only attack actual troopers, and wouldn’t harm any of the non-combat personnel on the mountain. He didn’t view the engineers and other workers as guilty of the destruction of the village, at least not as guilty as the troopers were. Merrin had tried arguing otherwise, but he could tell she was reluctant to argue with him.

He guessed the Nightsister probably wasn’t feeling completely sure where they stood as friends or whatever they were, he wasn't really sure. Honestly they hadn’t had much time to discuss that subject. Right after they had returned to the moment they were thrust into a whole new problem before they had time to start picking up the pieces of the last issue. 

When would they get a chance to start fixing their relationship? Would they ever get that chance? And if they did, would their relationship ever truly be repaired, could they return to being friends after all that had happened between them over the last many weeks? Cal didn’t know, wasn’t sure if he wanted to know. Truthfully the whole subject intimidated him. For all the Jedi Order’s teachings of controlling one’s own feelings, they had failed to teach this young Jedi how to handle romantic feelings, or friendly relations. Perhaps they had believed that limiting his contact with others outside of the order would prevent such needs.

Honestly Cal was a little relieved that he had something to distract his mind and thoughts from such thoughts. He just wished that the destruction wasn’t hurting his friend so much.

Merrin wasn’t handling the destruction of her brothers so well. She had always given the impression that she cared little for the village, and at first that is exactly what Cal had believed. But after living with her for so long he figured out the truth. The Nightsister had visited the village almost daily to both manage them and help sort out issues. Yes she believed that her own problems outweighed her brothers’ issues, but that is what she had been taught as a Nightsister. But she still viewed them as her people, her subjects that she had charge over, and had to protect. She blamed herself for their slaughter, he could tell. It didn’t help that the massacre of the Nightbrothers reminded her of her own sister’s slaughter. Cal had heard her mumbling so while she had been half asleep the night before. 

Merrin wasn’t grieving the Nightbrothers, at least not outwardly. She instead channeled her emotions about the whole ordeal through anger, and the pursuit to rid her planet of these invaders. 

And the two of them were, in his opinion, doing an adamant job. By the end of their second day disrupting imperial progress the imperials had doubled the size of patrols across the mountain to try and prevent their troopers from disappearing due to, what they believed to be, dangerous wildlife. By day four patrols had been restricted to only around the main imperial base camp as well as the worksights around the temple at the peak. It wouldn’t be long until the empire called it quotes on this whole project of theirs, he was sure. 

Nightsister Merrin was less pleased with the progress, and probably wouldn’t be satisfied until the imperials were gone. On multiple occasions Cal had to talk her out of raising her sisters from their burial pods to attack the imperials. Though the idea of Merrin using the dead as a weapon concerned him, it wasn’t his main issue with the idea. The young Jedi was worried that if word reached the higher ups of these imperials that the undead attacked their soldiers that they would send reinforcements aiming to figure out what had raised the dead. After all they were here looking for force related artifacts. 

At the current moment the Jedi and Nightsister pier are attempting to disappear another guard patrol. The patrol in question was half a dozen troopers, four standard and two that had armor similar to clone scout trooper armor, only without the camo. These scout troopers wielded high grade riot shock batons and blaster pistols. 

Normally when the two of them set out to stop a patrol, Merrin would magically influence the local dangerous wildlife to attack. This usually resulted in the patrol either being run off with a few casualties or completely killed off. This time that wasn’t an option. The imperial trooper patrols have done a good job at killing most of the dangerous creatures near the peak of the mountain, so there wern’t any Nydaks or Bane Back Spiders nearby for Merrin to influence. This left the two of them to deal with the patrol. Not the most difficult task. All they had to do was kill them all before the troopers got a chance to report the attack.

The plan was simple. Cal and Merrin would ambush them from above as the patrol walked below a cliff edge. Merrin would deal with the two scouts from range with her blasts of ichor, while he pounced atop the four blaster wielders. If all went as planned Cal would land right as Merrin’s first few blasts of ichor would hit the scout troopers, and the ambush would last only a few moments longer as he worked to end the troopers.

To make things easier, the regular troopers tended to keep distance from the scout troopers. It gave an impression that the two groups didn’t get along all too well, but he couldn’t be sure.

The first signs the troopers got that something was wrong was the large mass dropping into their vision from above, accompanied with the sounds of the scouts cries of surprise and pain and the sound and sight of a blue lightsaber being armed. 

Two swift slashes of the Jedi’s weapon later and three of the four troopers and been cut down. The fourth trooper only had time to aim his weapon before an invisible weight slammed into him, taking him over the cliffs edge. 

Turning towards the scouts Cal wasn’t surprised to see their bodies laying on the ground motionless. Their armor and the skin underneath still smoking and hissing from the burning green ichor that had ended them.

“We are finished here.” Merrins calm voice came from a cloud of green magick that started to appear only a few meters ahead of him. Cal would have been startled by her sudden appearance if he hadn’t already gotten mostly used to her silent teleportation.

“Not until we get rid of the bodies. We can’t have them finding dead troopers with plasma cuts and mysterious burns.

With a nod of affirmation the Nightsister turned towards the bodies. Summoning her powers Merrin compelled the planet to swallow the bodies and all traces of the attack deep into the planet's crust. When the influence of magick faded from Merrin’s eyes, she turned back towards the Jedi. “Satisfied?”

“Yes”

As they made to leave Cal heard the shuffling of rocks and sand behind them. Still on an adrenaline filled edge from the ambush just a few moments earlier Cal turned at once. 

The trooper that he had sent over a cliff edge had just finished crawling back up. He must have caught a hold of the cliff wall on his way down and climbed his way back up. The trooper was currently in the process of aiming his weapon at Merrin’s back. With a pull of a trigger a bolt of plasma was sent flying.

Cal acted, his mind racing through all the options he had available in that split second. He could try grabbing hold of Merrin and pulling her from the bolt's path? That wouldn’t work, the bolt was too fast, it would hit the Nightsister before he even made it to her. He could Force stasis the bolt of plasma? But would that even work? He had never tried that power on such a small fast moving object before, and he hardly wanted to test his abilities with Merrin’s safely as collateral. A force push to shove her to safety? No, with their current positioning she would go flying over a cliffside. And a Force pull would only pull her further into the deadly plasmas’s path. Jumping in the way wouldn’t work either, he couldn’t move fast enough.

He wouldn’t be able to do it. Wouldn’t be able to stop this. To save Merrin from the fate of burning energy and gas boring a hole through her chest. Cal was too weak to save that which he loved. Just like what had happened with Master Jaro Tapal. He would watch again, helpless, as another person he cared for deeply was cut down by blaster fire. Because Cal had failed her.

What could he do? He did the only thing he could do at that moment. He screamed. “NO!”

Everything went slow. Or more accurately Cal sped up, both his physical speed and perception went into overdrive. He was sprinting towards Merrin at an inhuman speed. Taking a glance at the red plasma bolt racing through the air, what he saw wasn’t good. 

Though he was faster, the bolt still outspeed him. Though only by a fraction. Cal did have a head start, being closer to the Nightsister than the plasma bolt. This race of life or death would be close.

Every muscle in his body, every ounce of his energy was directed into saving the last daughter of Dathomir. His body and mind, already strained by this new use of the Force screamed at him in revolt. Cal’s muscles ripping at the strain and bursting from the energy forced into them by the supernatural Force. 

But he couldn’t stop, nor slow. The killing blow was starting to gain ground. 

When he finally made it within reach of Merrin, the bolt was only inches from her. He grasped ahold of her and violently yanked her towards him.

The Force speed ended just as the Nightsister’s scream rang out. 

Merrin’s scream would haunt the young Jedi till the end of time, this he knew. Cal’s heart dropped into despair. Had he failed to save her?

When he felt movement in his arms Cal was brought out of his despair filled thoughts. 

Merrin was alive, and in his arms. Though she was gravely injured. The plasma that was originally going to hit her strait in the stomach had instead heavily grazed the right side of her stomach. A debilitating and painful wound, but not fatal. 

The pain from the deep burn had rendered the Nightsister unconscious. And at a quick glance the skin seemed to have been mostly cauterized. Before Cal would allow himself to examine the damage any further, first he had to deal with the trooper that had done this to Merrin.

But when he looked up there was a slight problem. The trooper was nowhere to be seen. He must have run, and was on his way to report of Cal and Merrin’s existence.

[Break]

When Merrin began to regain her consciousness, the first thing she noticed was the great searing pain originating from the right side of her body. It felt as if her skin was being boiled off. On instinct she used her magicks to calm the pain, allowing the Nightsister to think and register the world around her.

Using her magick exhausted her greatly. She must be more injured than she had first believed. But what had happened? Merrin hardly remembers anything after killing that trooper patrol.

“Merrin!” She registered the relieved voice of her Jedi off to her side. 

Opening her eyes she registered that they were in a cave. A cave she recognized. It was the cave they had been living out of after returning to the mountain. Their old home was too close to the peak and temple to be safe.

Soon Cal Kastis’ half worried and half relieved face appeared above her. “You're awake. How are you feeling? Are you okay? What am I saying? You got shot, of course you aren't okay!”

“I was shot?” Her left arm instinctively moved to hold the area of her body that she could feel had taken the damage. She winced when her hand made contact with the bandaged up burn. It seems her spell to numb her pain had been weaker than she had intended.

“Yes, you were.” Cal Kestis said before looking away from her gaze. Before he did she registered hints of guilt morphing onto his face. “O-one of the troopers I thought I had taken care of shot you. I’m sorry Merrin. I’m so sorry.” Though his face was mostly hidden from her, Merrin still noticed the few drops of water that started to run down his cheek. “This is all my fault.”

Gently, the Nightsister reached up with her right hand to move the young Jedi’s full face and gaze back into view. The muscle movement irritated her blaster wound, but she would not allow the pain to register on her face. Ever so lightly she brushed away the Jedi’s tears with her thumb. “I am all right, my Jedi. You need not worry about me.”

He didn’t respond immediately, instead Cal Kestis moved his own hand to take hers. With care, he pulled her hand away from his cheek and started caressing the inner part of her palm with his thumb. “I always will.” At that very moment Merrin was convinced that there was no better feeling than having Cal Kestis’ calloused fingers move across her skin, while listening to him speak while putting such love and care into his soft voice.

Reluctantly Merrin lowered her hand back to her side. Using her hands to push herself up to survey the damage to her body, her bandaged wound once again retaliated with a shot of pain that had the Nightsister close her eyes involuntarily. When the pain subsided she opened her eyes. Merrin was dressed in only her boots, pants, and undershirt. The undershirt pulled up past the stomach to allow access to her damaged side. Cal Kestis must have removed her robe so he could patch her up.

Her current state of clothing was by no means indecent, but it probably was the most skin she had shown to anyone, including Ilyana. That along with the very idea of Cal Kestis undressing her made a slight shade of pink dust the Nightsister’s face.

Cal had expertly wrapped the bandage around her waist. Where the plasma wound was there was a slight lump under the bandaging, indicating to Merrin that there was some kind of patch or cloth placed over her wound. The bandage was not a simple cloth that would be found and used on Dathomir. It was a more advanced medical wrap, probably from one of the medical kits they had stolen from the invaders.

“I cleaned the wound and applied a large bacta patch, before wrapping it up in the bandage. Let me know if anything feels wrong.”

“It feels fine.” Merrin assured him before lowering herself back down. “What happened to the one who shot me?”

“He got away. I’m sorry Merrin.” He whispered, seemingly ashamed. “He’s already reported back to his superiors. Cal Kestis turned to grab something behind him before turning back towards her holding the data pad they had stolen a little while back.

Luckily for them the data pad was still receiving updates from the landing ship on orders and troop movement among other things. It had allowed them to both keep on their toes, as well as learn more about why the invaders were on Dathomir. They learned that Project Auger was an archaeological project to excavate powerful artifacts pertaining to an ancient race known as the Zeffo. The project was led to ruins believed to be of Zeffo origin on Dathomir from information gathered at other Zeffo ruins on a planet also named Zeffo. She wasn't sure if the planet was named after the ancient alien race or vise versa, not that it really mattered.

“According to this that in light of the reports of a Jedi sighting that Project Auger is being placed under the supervision of the Imperial Inquisition and the second and ninth Inquisitors along with each of their personal details of Purge Troopers are on their way to Dathomir to hunt the unidentified Jedi, me.”

“It seems you Jedi have more enemies than I had thought. I do not like the sound of these Jedi hunters coming after us.” Merrin eyed her Jei with worry. She had only just gotten Cal Kestis back. The idea of him being hunted down by this unknown inquisition was far from a pleasant thought.

“Neither do I, and with you injured I’m stumped on what we should do.”

“We must leave the mountain.” Cal Kestis did little to hide his look of surprise at her words. He apparently had thought she would refuse to leave her mountain. The Nightsister was indeed reluctant to leave her home, as well as the resting place of her sisters and Ilyana, but she was in no state to fight, and she refused to let her Jedi take on these Jedi hunters alone. “Only temporarily. We will return when I have recovered. In my current state I seem to be having trouble casting even a simple spell.” Her spell to relieve her pain was suppose to be relatively simple, yet when she had cast it on herself the potency had been well below what would be expected.

The sound of ships descending through the atmosphere near the mountain garnered the attention of Cal and Merrin. Cal took a few steps towards the exit of the cave to get a look. He spotted two starships making their way to the mountain. One was a landing craft similar to the one the troopers first used to land on the mountain, only half the size and painted a deep black. The other was what looked to be a starfighter unlike any Cal had ever seen, with a similarly black paint job. “Those must be my hunters.”

“We leave as soon as we are able.” Merrin spoke from further within the cave.

[Break]

It would only be a day until Merrin deemed herself able to move well enough and rested well enough to make the trip down the mountain and away from these Jedi hunters. Teleporting down wasn’t much of an option. In her current fatigued and injured state Merrin had little control over her magicks and could only accomplish the simplest of spells. This took her teleportation spell, a highly advanced technique, of the table of options. They would have to make the trip slowly on foot and down the easiest most used and easily traversed paths.

They only carried with them Cal’s lightsaber and duskblade, Merrin’s talisman, a medical kit, some water, and for some reason Cal still carried with him those six short range comlinks that he had gotten from the escape pod all those years ago. He really only carried around those comlinks now for sentimental reasons. What little else they had was left in the cave.

With the help of the data pad and Force granted luck the Nightsister Jedi pair were able to make it about halfway down the mountain without running into any patrols, or so they thought.

Going unnoticed by either of them a trooper dressed in all black armor and wielding an electrostaff had sighted them a short time ago and was currently following them while relaying his current position.After doing so the purge trooper took little time closing the distance, intending to ambush the two.

Cal finally noticed the stalker when they were only a meters apart, hearing both the shuffle of sand as well as the low screeching and crackling of the electrostaff electrical arks. Turning around, weapon brandished and lit, he put himself between the attacker and Merrin.

The first strike of the staff came at Cal’s left side. The blow was blocked with great difficulty due to the weight behind the strike and Cal only had one hand to defend with. Not allowing the Jedi any time to recover the trooper swung the other end of his staff at Cal’s right side.

Deciding that blocking the blow head on would be too risky, and get him nowhere, Cal elected to parry the blow over his head. His skillfully performed parry was followed up by a firm kick into the trooper’s breastplate.

Cal had hoped to knock the trooper off his feet, but the kick only accomplished pushing the trooper back and staggering him momentarily. That short moment was all that Cal needed. With a powerful downward strike at the Purge trooper’s left shoulder blade the short bout of combat was ended with the Jedi’s enemy cut almost in two. 

Within moments a worried Nightsister was upon him, checking him over for any damage. “Are you unharmed?”

“I’m fine Merrin. We need to get moving before more of them show up.”

As if on cue the black small black landing craft that Cal had sighted only a day before was sighted and heard by the Jedi and Nightsister pair. “We must go!”

Outrunning a starship on foot was a feat no Jedi or Nightsister could accomplish, especially when one of them was injured, and could at most accomplish short bursts of speed. Flying over the couple’s heads the two watched as the landing crafts bay doors opened mid flight. A dark figure dressed in all black with a helmet that obscured her face jumped down from the landing craft, directly in front of the fleeing pair, a strange looking lightsaber hilt strapped to her belt. 

“Hello There.” An unsettlingly amused tone came from the figure as she spoke. “Where do you two think you are going? You know, I’m quite surprised to see that there really is a Jedi here, let alone in the company of a Nightsister.”

“Leave Dathomir! You are not welcome here!” Merrin defiantly shouted at this new threat.

“I would love to leave this deathtrap of a planet, but first I’m going to need you to hand over your friend.”

“Never!”

“A pity.” Her tone of voice made it clear that she felt that the Nightsister’s refusal was amusing, and far from being seen as a pity. The inquisitor's double blades were lit, revealing a crimson red plasma blade that felt rather fitting considering the planet they were on. “The hard way it is then.”

Using Force Speed the inquisitor was upon Cal within a blink of an eye, aiming a downward strike at the young Jedi. The powerful blow was only narrowly blocked by the young Jedi. The two became locked in a competition of power. Only having one hand to push back against his opponents two made it only a matter of time until Cal’s block failed and he would be cut down by the vermilion blade. 

Suddenly the inquisitor jumped back, dodging out of the way of a blast of green ichor that Merrin had aimed at the inquisitor’s head. 

“That’s no fun.” The inquisitor said with a hint of amusement as she shook her head. “Two against one. Do you mind if I even the playing field?” with a press of a button on her helmet and a few whispered words the landing craft descended to the ground only a short distance behind the inquisitor. The landing craft’s bay doors opened once again to reveal half a dozen purge troopers. 

At the sight Cal’s heart dropped. To his and Merrin’s left was a cliff, to their right a wall of stone, in front of them was certain death. They could run back, but there was little chance they both could get away. “Merrin, you need to run.” He spoke to his companion, keeping his eyes locked with the opponents ahead.

“I will not run, leaving you to your death.” Her certain and defiant tone gave no room for argument, but that wouldn’t stop the Jedi from trying to argue.

“Merrin plea-” The sound of another starship’s engines cut off the Jedi’s words. Everyone turned to see a lightly armed and uniquely designed starship rapidly approaching. The ship fired both of it's forward mounted laser cannons at the black landing ship. The landing ship without its shielding active and only lightly armored stood no chance at such a close ranged shot. It immediately exploded, sending the purge troopers descending it's bay doors flying in all directions. The inquisitor, being further away from the exploding ship was only thrown a few feet and knocked off her feet. The attacking starship slowed down and brought it's right starboard side to the edge of the cliff. A door opened revealing an older looking human woman with blaster in hand. “We’re here to help.”

“Who are you?!”

“No time. Jump on.”

Surveying the situation Merrin and him were currently in. The inquisitor was recovering from the aftermath of the explosion, and even a few of the surviving purge troopers were also regaining their footing.

An affirmative nod from Merrin was all the encouragement Cal needed. Deactivating his weapon and latching it onto his belt, Cal used his one arm to throw Merrin over onto his shoulder before he sprinted towards salvation, and jumped onto the strangers ship. Within a few seconds the starboard door was closed and the starship was zooming out of Dathomir’s atmosphere.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: Chapter 14-The Quest-Bogano
> 
> The force ability that Cal used to save Merrin was Force Speed, a common force ability among trained force users. Trilla uses it a lot during her boss fights in Fallen Order. In the game Cal unlocked his Force Stasis ability in an attempt to save Master Jaro Tapal by suing it to slow the attacking clones (Or at least I think that's the first instance of him using the ability). I thought it would be fitting if Cal unlocked another force ability trying to save Merrin.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first work. All Criticism is welcome, and I apologize if I get the formatting wrong.


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